In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

They stayed awake all night.

Next question?

On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

A very, very good question. And one that I've puzzled over too. Maybe
they chose knocker-uppers who were light sleepers and who would wake up
when a nearby church clock chimed the appropriate hour. Maybe
knocker-uppers *did* have alarm clocks (when was the technology
developed?) but these were too expensive for the majority of people to
afford, just the K-U who had an alarm clock bought for him by the factory.

I presume there was a social stigma to those addresses that were closest
to the K-U as those people would be woken up earliest as he did his
rounds and so would get less sleep than someone near the end of the
round. But then those who were woken earliest had chance for a less
hurried breakfast before they knew they had to set off.

On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

The people who were woken employed the knocker-up, not the factory
owners. That is why they rapped on windows, rather than standing in the
street with a rattle or a whistle: they didn't want to wake anybody who
wasn't paying to be woken.

The knocker-up was a night shift worker, so slept by day.

--
Colin Bignell

On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:

> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

That’s an interesting question! According to an article on The Vintage
News, it seems that some knocker-uppers stayed up all night until they
had finished their duties. However, there is no definitive answer as to
who woke up the knocker-uppers themselves. Eventually, around the 1920s,
reliable alarm clocks became affordable to the masses and the
knocker-upper was no longer needed [1].

[1]
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/12/23/before-alarm-clocks-there-was-a-profession-called-a-knocker-upper/

--
Bing AI

On 21-Apr-23 15:08, NY wrote:
> On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
>> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
>> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
>> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?
>
>
> A very, very good question. And one that I've puzzled over too. Maybe
> they chose knocker-uppers who were light sleepers and who would wake up
> when a nearby church clock chimed the appropriate hour. Maybe
> knocker-uppers *did* have alarm clocks (when was the technology
> developed?) but these were too expensive for the majority of people to
> afford, just the K-U who had an alarm clock bought for him by the factory.
>
> I presume there was a social stigma to those addresses that were closest
> to the K-U as those people would be woken up earliest as he did his
> rounds and so would get less sleep than someone near the end of the
> round. But then those who were woken earliest had chance for a less
> hurried breakfast before they knew they had to set off.

Breakfast! Sheer luxury! Why in my day we....

(Cont'd page 97)

--
Sam Plusnet

On 21-Apr-23 18:26, Bing AI wrote:
> On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
>
>> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
>> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
>> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?
>
> That’s an interesting question! According to an article on The Vintage
> News, it seems that some knocker-uppers stayed up all night until they
> had finished their duties. However, there is no definitive answer as to
> who woke up the knocker-uppers themselves. Eventually, around the 1920s,
> reliable alarm clocks became affordable to the masses and the
> knocker-upper was no longer needed [1].
>
> [1]
> https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/12/23/before-alarm-clocks-there-was-a-profession-called-a-knocker-upper/

I would question that "reliable alarm clocks" comment.

Even in the 1950s people would have to allow for their alarm clock
gaining or losing (maybe) 20 minutes or so overnight.
There was usually a tiny adjuster on the back of the clock, but even the
slightest touch would cause it to over/undershoot by a large margin.

--
Sam Plusnet

On 21/04/2023 20:14, Sam Plusnet wrote:
> On 21-Apr-23 18:26, Bing AI wrote:
>> On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
>>
>>> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
>>> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
>>> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?
>>
>> That’s an interesting question! According to an article on The Vintage
>> News, it seems that some knocker-uppers stayed up all night until they
>> had finished their duties. However, there is no definitive answer as
>> to who woke up the knocker-uppers themselves. Eventually, around the
>> 1920s, reliable alarm clocks became affordable to the masses and the
>> knocker-upper was no longer needed [1].
>>
>> [1]
>> https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/12/23/before-alarm-clocks-there-was-a-profession-called-a-knocker-upper/
>
> I would question that "reliable alarm clocks" comment.
>
> Even in the 1950s people would have to allow for their alarm clock
> gaining or losing (maybe) 20 minutes or so overnight.
> There was usually a tiny adjuster on the back of the clock, but even the
> slightest touch would cause it to over/undershoot by a large margin.
>

It is as well that knockers-up were still working into the 1970s then.
Gas lamp lighters, however, I don't remember after the 1950s.

--
Colin Bignell

On Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:01:04 +1000, fred <tpmccann@gmail.com> wrote:

> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

Not everyone needs anything to wake them up.

I never did. I did set an alarm before flying out first thing
in the morning, but never actually had it wake me up,
I always woke up before the alarm went off.

On Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:08:55 +1000, NY <me@privacy.net> wrote:

> On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
>> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
>> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
>> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

> A very, very good question. And one that I've puzzled over too. Maybe
> they chose knocker-uppers who were light sleepers and who would wake up
> when a nearby church clock chimed the appropriate hour.

I never had anything to wake me up and while I did set
an alarm for aircraft flights first thing in the morning,
I always woke up before the alarm went off.

I was never a light sleeper and never had any church clock that chimed the
hour.

> Maybe knocker-uppers *did* have alarm clocks (when was the technology
> developed?) but these were too expensive for the majority of people to
> afford, just the K-U who had an alarm clock bought for him by the
> factory.

> I presume there was a social stigma to those addresses that were closest
> to the K-U as those people would be woken up earliest as he did his
> rounds and so would get less sleep than someone near the end of the
> round. But then those who were woken earliest had chance for a less
> hurried breakfast before they knew they had to set off.

On Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:15:14 +1000, Colin Bignell
<cpb@bignellremovethis.me.uk> wrote:

> On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
>> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
>> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
>> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?
>
> The people who were woken employed the knocker-up, not the factory
> owners. That is why they rapped on windows, rather than standing in the
> street with a rattle or a whistle: they didn't want to wake anybody who
> wasn't paying to be woken.
>
> The knocker-up was a night shift worker, so slept by day.

Doesnt explain how they could be knocking up before their night shift
ended.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocker-up

On Sat, 22 Apr 2023 05:14:57 +1000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

> On 21-Apr-23 18:26, Bing AI wrote:
>> On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
>>
>>> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
>>> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
>>> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?
>> That’s an interesting question! According to an article on The Vintage
>> News, it seems that some knocker-uppers stayed up all night until they
>> had finished their duties. However, there is no definitive answer as to
>> who woke up the knocker-uppers themselves. Eventually, around the
>> 1920s, reliable alarm clocks became affordable to the masses and the
>> knocker-upper was no longer needed [1].
>> [1]
>> https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/12/23/before-alarm-clocks-there-was-a-profession-called-a-knocker-upper/
>
> I would question that "reliable alarm clocks" comment.
>
> Even in the 1950s people would have to allow for their alarm clock
> gaining or losing (maybe) 20 minutes or so overnight.

BULLSHIT. None of ours ever did anything like that.

> There was usually a tiny adjuster on the back of the clock, but even the
> slightest touch would cause it to over/undershoot by a large margin.

BULLSHIT.

Colin Bignell wrote:

> It is as well that knockers-up were still working into the 1970s then.
> Gas lamp lighters, however, I don't remember after the 1950s.

I remember factories up to the 70's having their own siren to call-in
the workers.

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote
> Colin Bignell wrote

>> It is as well that knockers-up were still working into the 1970s then.
>> Gas lamp lighters, however, I don't remember after the 1950s.

> I remember factories up to the 70's having their own siren to call-in
> the workers.

That's too late to wake them up.

In message <op.13r0oxuebyq249@pvr2.lan>, Rod Speed
<rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> writes
>On Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:01:04 +1000, fred <tpmccann@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
>>employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
>> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?
>
>Not everyone needs anything to wake them up.
>
>I never did. I did set an alarm before flying out first thing
>in the morning, but never actually had it wake me up,
>I always woke up before the alarm went off.

When you know you have something important on, and have to get up
earlier than usual, it's probably fairly usual to sleep lightly, and to
wake up well before the alarm goes off. You may get up earlier, and
forget to switch the alarm off - and it goes off when you're having your
breakfast.
--
Ian
Aims and ambitions are neither attainments nor achievements

On 22/04/2023 01:36, Rod Speed wrote:
> On Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:15:14 +1000, Colin Bignell
> <cpb@bignellremovethis.me.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
>>> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
>>> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
>>> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?
>>
>> The people who were woken employed the knocker-up, not the factory
>> owners. That is why they rapped on windows, rather than standing in
>> the street with a rattle or a whistle: they didn't want to wake
>> anybody who wasn't paying to be woken.
>>
>> The knocker-up was a night shift worker, so slept by day.
>
> Doesnt explain how they could be knocking up before their night shift
> ended.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocker-up

It does, if you understand that they were only employed as a knocker-up
and that was what they were working a night shift on.

--
Colin Bignell

On 22/04/2023 07:23, Andy Burns wrote:
> Colin Bignell wrote:
>
>> It is as well that knockers-up were still working into the 1970s then.
>> Gas lamp lighters, however, I don't remember after the 1950s.
>
> I remember factories up to the 70's having their own siren to call-in
> the workers.
>
I was under the impression that those were used to mark shift start and
finish times.

--
Colin Bignell

On 21/04/2023 20:14, Sam Plusnet wrote:
> Even in the 1950s people would have to allow for their alarm clock
> gaining or losing (maybe) 20 minutes or so overnight.
> There was usually a tiny adjuster on the back of the clock, but even the
> slightest touch would cause it to over/undershoot by a large margin.

Sounds very odd. Clockwork clocks have never gained or lost *that* much
for me - 20 minutes overnight (eg 11 PM to 7 AM) is a very large error.
Or was there something about the alarm mechanism in early alarm clocks
which made them inherently less accurate or harder to adjust than normal
time-of-day clocks?

On 21/04/2023 15:01, fred wrote:
> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

His wife?

Am 21/04/2023 um 14:01 schrieb fred:
> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

Is that before humankind moved from hunting/gathering to sedentism?

--
Ottavio Caruso

On Sat, 22 Apr 2023 08:17:00 +0100, Colin Bignell wrote:

> On 22/04/2023 07:23, Andy Burns wrote:
>> Colin Bignell wrote:
>>
>>> It is as well that knockers-up were still working into the 1970s then.
>>> Gas lamp lighters, however, I don't remember after the 1950s.
>>
>> I remember factories up to the 70's having their own siren to call-in
>> the workers.
>>
> I was under the impression that those were used to mark shift start and
> finish times.

Yes, prertty sure I remember that happening not far from me, and I'd hear
the one for the afternoon shift change. That was in Colchester (Ruston
Paxman).

--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

Bob Eager wrote:

> Colin Bignell wrote:
>
>> Andy Burns wrote:
>>
>>> I remember factories up to the 70's having their own siren to call-in
>>> the workers.
>>>
>> I was under the impression that those were used to mark shift start and
>> finish times.
>
> Yes, prertty sure I remember that happening not far from me, and I'd hear
> the one for the afternoon shift change. That was in Colchester (Ruston
> Paxman).

This wasn't a huge place with shifts, just a sawmill and box/crate
factory siren before the work day, guess everyone had to know how many
minutes after the siren they had to leave home ...

Maybe he used an alarm clock powered by an hourglass?
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
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Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"fred" <tpmccann@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:5898c080-1cf3-4cb8-9f9d-42a78c62e933n@googlegroups.com...
> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

Am 22/04/2023 um 11:29 schrieb Brian Gaff:
> Maybe he used an alarm clock powered by an hourglass?
> Brian
>

Asking for a friend, you guys in Angloshire never had roosters as low
tech alarm clocks? Or is it something only vile Continentals do?

--
Ottavio Caruso

On Fri, 21 Apr 2023 07:01:04 -0700, fred wrote:

> In years gone by, before the advent of alarm clocks, factory owners
> employed 'Knocker uppers' to rap on employees windows to waken them up.
> My question is, who wakened up the knocker upper?

There was a knocker upper knocker upper.
and for them, a knocker upper knocker upper knocker upper.

[Basically turtles all the way down.]

Cheers

Dave r

--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64