The next line-up of odd jobs begins with one that can lead to all kinds of interpretations; no, it’s not therapy for hippos, nor is it accusing hippos of being convicted criminals (break it down…)! It is in fact a specialised form of therapy for humans involving horses.
There are a few on this list that sound on the surface like cushy jobs; but as with all careers, they have their downsides too, I’m sure: It’s just creepy to hire someone else to lie down in your hotel bed to warm it up for you, but someone’s got to earn money; and how’d you like to live in a spotless mansion as a living mannequin… never to feel at home, and forced to leave at the drop of a hat? Being an ice cream taster doesn’t sound bad on a hot day, but 60 kinds a day, every day, without swallowing? No, thanks! I’d rather enjoy mine one flavour at a time, or three.
Iceberg Mover. Original photo source, unknown (if known, please let me know!)
- Hippotherapist
- Horse Rider / Exerciser
- Horticultural Therapist
- Hot Dog Vendor
- Human Bed-Warmer (UK): Some hotels offer a service to clients, in which a willing staffer dresses in an all-in-one fleece jumpsuit, and lays in the bed to warm it before the guest arrives.
- Human Bullet Impact Tester
- Human Prop: Hired to live in for-sale luxury homes at dirt cheap prices; but of course, there’s a catch – the house must always be in squeaky clean, in case it gets purchased, and they have to be ready to move out immediately. According to real estate companies, houses sell better when they’re being lived in; the props lend an unmistakable energy to an otherwise empty home.
- Human Scarecrow (UK) – A variation is that of a human scarecrow for airports – Officially, you’d be called a “specialist for biological aviation safety.”
- Iceberg Mover: Became a profession after the disastrous sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The International Ice Patrol (IIP), which was founded a year later, is operated by the US Coast Guard and tracks the location of icebergs and provides safe routes around them. If necessary, the iceberg will be towed out of the area.
- Ice Cream Taster (Food Scientist)
- IMAX Screen Cleaner
- Interior / Spatial Designer
Stephanie Huesler 
I’ve a friend who is training in hippotherapy. (You’re right, the job name can sound really awful.) My friend is a counselor, and she loves this new part of her practice. I simply enjoy making friends with horses. Human Scarecrow sounds kind of cool for work. You know, in a Hallowe’en-ish sort of way. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
I wonder why they don’t call it “equinetherapy”… aside from the whole Greek etymology thing. Sigh… okay, so the linguist in me understands, but the cheeky side of me still wants to break it down. 😉
I’d think a good supply of Kindle books would be a prerequisite to the scarecrow job…
Equine would be better! I like Greek lore and language, but we live in a context, too.
As for the scarecrow work, I’d be happy to prepare through reading. Uh, I’d get to wear a floppy hat with patches and straw pieces poking through, right?
As long as you could move, I think you could skip the straw. 😉
Would rather be an ice cream taster than a cat food taster, even tho that noble profession has been immortalized in the poem “Thoughts While Downwind of the Cat-Food Factory” by Lewis Gardner. The poem appears at the end of http://willnixon.com/insights/100poems and in an anthology of Gardner’s poems that I do not have a link for.
Come to think of it, comparing “that I do not have a link for” with “for which I do not have a link” in a nice example of the subtlety in deciding whether or not to end a sentence with a preposition.
Thanks for the link – I will check out the poem… it sounds interesting! And as far as ending with a preposition is concerned, English is flexible enough not to mind either way. 🙂