History's Worst Paychecks

Think your job is bad? Imagine painting tiny watch dials with a glow-in-the-dark paint so toxic it makes your bones disintegrate —and being told it’s perfectly safe. In this episode, we’re diving into one of the most horrifying workplace scandals in history: the Radium Girls. These young women spent their days carefully applying radioactive paint, unknowingly poisoning themselves with every brushs...

Think your job is bad? Imagine spending your days carving tomb walls, hauling multi-ton blocks of limestone under the burning desert sun, and getting paid in nothing but bread and beer—all while knowing that if something went wrong, you might end up sealed inside the tomb forever. In this episode, we’re heading to ancient Egypt to uncover the brutal realities of the Royal Tomb Builders —the labore...

Think your job is bad? Imagine being six years old and forced up a soot-filled chimney in Victorian London—with no clothes, no safety gear, and no guarantee you'll make it out alive. In this episode, we're diving into one of history's cruelest professions: child chimney sweeps. From harrowing accidents and shocking exploitation to absurdly low pay, discover the heartbreaking realities...

Wading waist-deep into a filthy swamp, waiting for bloodthirsty parasites to latch onto your legs—just another day in the life of a medieval leech collector . In this episode of History’s Worst Paychecks , we’re diving into one of the most gruesome, thankless, and downright disgusting jobs in history. Why did medieval doctors believe draining blood could cure everything from fevers to bad moods? H...

Human Computers at NASA Before digital computers ran the numbers that sent astronauts into space, NASA had a different kind of computer— women armed with pencils, paper, and sheer brilliance. In the high-stakes world of the 1960s Space Race, these human computers calculated rocket trajectories, re-entry angles, and life-or-death mission parameters, all while facing discrimination, relentless press...

Welcome to History’s Worst Paychecks , the podcast that explores the dirtiest, deadliest, and most absurd jobs throughout history. In our debut episode, we’re heading to ancient Rome, where one of the empire’s most essential industries was powered by something truly unexpected— human urine . Before fancy detergents, the Romans relied on a powerful natural cleaning agent: ammonia. And where did the...