Some job titles sound so ridiculous, you stop mid-sentence and think, “Wait, that’s real?” A lot of these exist because of old habits, weird routines, or businesses that never upgraded how they work. You see them in malls, airports, and hotels, doing tasks no one really needs anymore. Here are 10 such surprisingly odd jobs you won’t believe exist.
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Mall music volume adjuster
At some old-school shopping malls, there is (or at least was) someone whose job was to walk the halls, monitoring where people are crowding, and adjust the speaker volume accordingly. They are not flipping through playlists; they’re just spinning knobs up and down slightly.
Hotel newspaper folders
At some hotels, a person would be hired to take the daily newspaper, neatly fold it in thirds, and slip it under a guest’s door. That was literally the extent of the job. Folding. Long after the internet and smartphones had taken over as the primary source of news, the role still existed, because it was a part of the aesthetic.
Office plant watering specialist
There are stories online of actual companies that assign one person to water plants in office lobbies. These people usually aren’t told that many of the plants are plastic. They just go by a schedule, spray the leaves and record their work. Management often never notices either, and the routine continues for months or even years.
Airport baggage sniffer dummy
On rare occasions, airports hire actors to bring bags packed with trace amounts of scents so that K-9 units can “train” in a live environment. The actors just walk around, and act like normal people waiting for a flight. The only thing they do is carry a fake stinky bag.
Movie theater curtain opener
Believe it or not, many older theaters still hire someone to pull back a stage curtain before the movie starts. It’s done solely for nostalgia. Sure the curtain could be motorized, but someone still goes up, pulls a rope and leaves. After the movie begins, they have no other task at all.
Greeting card sentiment checker
Some print factories hire a person to go through greeting cards in order to “feel” the sentiment change from card to card. They are not there to detect spelling or grammar issues, just to emotionally gauge if things flow evenly.
Bookstore music complaints handler
In some large bookstore chains in the past, there was a person stationed by the music section whose only job was to field complaints about the volume or type of in-store background music. They didn’t change the music or anything, just took details and reported back later.
Highway cone watcher
When minor road work is taking place during off-peak hours, sometimes there is an employee whose only job is to “monitor” the traffic cones to ensure they don’t move or get stolen. They will sit in the truck cab or a fold-out chair and stare at cones for hours. Cameras could do the job equally as well, if not better, but the position is still staffed in some places “just in case.”
Escalator handrail polisher
In luxury malls or casinos, someone is sometimes hired just to clean and polish the moving handrail of the escalator throughout the day. They aren’t fixing escalators or deep cleaning, just wiping down the rubber handrails in loops.
Mannequin outfit rotator
Some fancy clothes stores will employ a person just to change the clothes on the mannequins at regularly scheduled times. Not because they are soiled or damaged, but because the store wants a “fresh visual experience” every few hours.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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