Unusual Jobs Quiz – Printable Version
20 multiple-choice questions with an explained answer key, ready to print.
Print the sheet (or save it as a PDF from the print window), hand it out, then mark it together using the answer page: every answer is explained. Perfect for a party, a birthday, a classroom, a care home or a team activity.
Name: ………………………………Score: ……… / 20
- Which option is the name of a craftsman who works with wood specifically in the Franche-Comté region?
- A. campagnol
- B. castor
- C. balireau
- D. sanglier
- What did the now-defunct job of 'claqueur' (clapper) in the entertainment world consist of?
- A. A person who gives fake claps at the cinema
- B. A person who applauds to encourage others to do the same
- C. Using a clapperboard on a film set
- D. Film sound effects artist using only a clapperboard
- What did the job of harness maker (bourrelier), still present but rapidly disappearing, consist of?
- A. He was in charge of loading cannons on warships
- B. He made and repaired harnesses and leather equipment for draught horses
- C. He handled the stuffing of taxidermied animals
- D. He stuffed mattresses and cushions
- What was the role of a town crier, a now-defunct profession?
- A. He read newspapers aloud in cafes for the illiterate
- B. He walked the streets to announce official news, laws and important events
- C. He called out prices at auction markets
- D. He announced deaths in cemeteries
- What was the role of a night watchman in medieval towns, ancestor of a modern profession?
- A. He patrolled the streets at night to maintain order, report fires and monitor wrongdoers
- B. He guarded bridges and walls against enemy invasions
- C. He protected nobles and wealthy bourgeois during their nocturnal travels
- D. He watched over the insane and mentally ill confined in hospices
- What did the job of cattle drover (toucheur de bœufs), practised in France until the mid-20th century, consist of?
- A. A cattle driver on foot guiding herds of cattle along roads to markets and abattoirs
- B. An itinerant animal trainer presenting exotic animals at fairs
- C. A health inspector checking animals at livestock markets
- D. An itinerant vet treating animals on isolated farms
- Which job consists of testing water slides before they open to the public?
- A. Professional slider
- B. Aquapark tester
- C. Aquatic test subject
- D. Water slide tester
- What is the job of counting trees in forests for environmental studies called?
- A. Accounting forest ranger
- B. Dendrometer
- C. Tree counter
- D. Quantitative ecologist
- Which job consists of testing beds and mattresses to evaluate their comfort?
- A. Sleep test subject
- B. Sleep expert
- C. Professional sleeper
- D. Bedding tester
- Before running water arrived, what was the role of the water carrier in cities?
- A. He maintained the city's fountains
- B. He delivered water to homes from public fountains, carried in buckets or barrels
- C. He purified river water
- D. He dug municipal wells
- What was the role of the factory reader, a job born in cigar factories in the 19th century?
- A. He checked the quality of rolled cigars
- B. He read newspapers and novels aloud to workers to make their repetitive work more bearable
- C. He translated the factory's business documents
- D. He taught reading to workers' children
- What is the role of the theatre prompter, an increasingly rare job today?
- A. He creates smoke effects on stage
- B. He tunes the orchestra's instruments before the performance
- C. He operates the scenery backstage
- D. He discreetly whispers to actors the lines they have forgotten, hidden in a small recess near the stage
- What does the job of chair caner involve, a craft that is very rare today?
- A. He restores antique upholstery fabrics
- B. He makes solid wood chairs
- C. He varnishes antique furniture
- D. He weaves straw, rattan or cord to redo the seat of worn chairs
- What is the name of the job that consists of searching for truffles in forests using a trained dog or pig?
- A. Mushroom farmer
- B. Truffologist
- C. Truffle hunter (caveur)
- D. Specialised forester
- Which fairground performer made tiny insects 'play', pull chariots and even 'fight', until the mid-20th century?
- A. The flea trainer
- B. The bear handler
- C. The sword swallower
- D. The snake charmer
- What does a 'hand model' do?
- A. Lends their hands for advertising photos and films
- B. Makes gloves
- C. Massages catwalk models
- D. Hand-sews haute couture dresses
- Which job involves writing the little messages slipped into fortune cookies in American restaurants?
- A. Imperial calligrapher
- B. Menu translator
- C. Horoscope writer
- D. Fortune cookie writer
- What do the 'taggers' employed by Netflix do?
- A. Put up series posters
- B. Translate subtitles
- C. Watch programmes and describe them with keywords that feed the recommendations
- D. Make up film titles
- What service does a 'professional bridesmaid' offer?
- A. She poses as a friend of the bride to help and organise the day
- B. She sings during the ceremony
- C. She takes the photos
- D. She makes the dress
- In film-making, which artist recreates footsteps, creaking doors or punches in the studio?
- A. The mixer
- B. The boom operator
- C. The dubbing actor
- D. The Foley artist
Answer key — Unusual Jobs Quiz
- D. sanglierA 'sanglier' (literally: wild boar) is a person who makes spruce bark straps to hold runny cheeses, mainly the Vacherin Mont d'Or from Franche-Comté.
- B. A person who applauds to encourage others to do the sameThis job was useful in theatres to encourage the audience to laugh and applaud in rhythm.
- B. He made and repaired harnesses and leather equipment for draught horsesThe harness maker was a craftsman specializing in the making and repair of harnesses, collars, straps and other leather equipment for draught horses.
- B. He walked the streets to announce official news, laws and important eventsBefore the invention of the press and printing, the town crier was the main vehicle for official information.
- A. He patrolled the streets at night to maintain order, report fires and monitor wrongdoersThe medieval night watchman patrolled dark streets after curfew, armed with a halberd and a lantern.
- A. A cattle driver on foot guiding herds of cattle along roads to markets and abattoirsThe cattle drover conveyed herds of cattle on foot over tens or sometimes hundreds of kilometres along roads and tracks, from farms to livestock markets or urban abattoirs.
- D. Water slide testerWater slide testers check the safety and proper functioning of aquatic attractions before they open to the public.
- B. DendrometerDendrometers measure and count trees for scientific studies or forest inventories.
- C. Professional sleeperThese testers spend their nights in different beds and mattresses to evaluate their comfort and quality.
- B. He delivered water to homes from public fountains, carried in buckets or barrelsBefore running water at home became widespread in the 19th and 20th centuries, the water carrier fetched water from public fountains and delivered it to homes for a fee, often using a yoke carrying two buckets.
- B. He read newspapers and novels aloud to workers to make their repetitive work more bearableOriginating in tobacco factories in Cuba and later Spain, the factory reader (lector) sat on a raised platform and read the press and novels aloud to workers as they rolled cigars, making the repetitive work more bearable.
- D. He discreetly whispers to actors the lines they have forgotten, hidden in a small recess near the stagePositioned in a small recess at the edge of the stage called the 'prompter's box', he followed the play's text and discreetly whispered forgotten lines to the actors.
- D. He weaves straw, rattan or cord to redo the seat of worn chairsThe chair caner patiently weaves rye straw, rattan or cord to rebuild the seat of a chair whose original base is worn or broken, extending the life of sometimes very old furniture.
- C. Truffle hunter (caveur)The truffle hunter walks through the woods with a dog (or, more rarely, a pig) trained to detect the scent of truffles buried underground, then digs carefully to harvest them without damaging them.
- A. The flea trainerThe fleas were tied with fine gold wire to small props. Some shows were pure mechanical illusions…
- A. Lends their hands for advertising photos and filmsJewellery, watches, creams, smartphones: the hands on screen often belong to specialists.
- D. Fortune cookie writerThese cookies are actually an American invention, probably of Japanese origin.
- C. Watch programmes and describe them with keywords that feed the recommendationsMood, type of hero, happy ending or not: hundreds of tags then let the algorithm suggest similar titles.
- A. She poses as a friend of the bride to help and organise the dayDiscreetly, she handles mishaps, calms nerves and keeps to schedule…
- D. The Foley artistSnapped celery for bones, leather gloves for bird wings, coconuts for hooves: they repurpose everyday objects with boundless imagination.