"harsh fines on things like sitting down, being untidy [...] or even just going to the toilet without permission." So she was a Victorian era Amazon warehouse worker. Got it!
@@skyeef4351 just because we cannot disagree with you guys without being torn down on reactionary social media, doesn't mean that I canmot disagree on that matter. There was also white slavery, people from the poorhouses, coal miners, chimney sweeps and many, many more, that were indentured to the same type of life of a POC slave. Even corporal punishment was not spared on them if they stepped out of line. You just learn the history as it's convenient for you...
My grandfather always read us the story of "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Anderson every year at Christmas. He never could finish reading it, by the last few pages his voice was so choked with tears it was barely audible. He would sit with us, hug us and cry. He was so tender-hearted the thought of a child suffering made him weep. The story is so sad but also full of hope. It's beautiful, yet heart breaking. I miss his sweet soul daily.
I'm a retired nurse. It was normal to work 14 hour shifts on my feet. In one hospital, I literally had to run the whole time. I wore a pedometer for a while and learned I was covering, on average, 36 miles a day. I had to cover more than a marathon every time I went to work. And people wonder why nursing shortages come up.
lets never forget that working conditions only improved because of unions! corporations would still be treating workers like this if it was up to them! no company is moral, at least, not for long.
@@AP-su9oc Work stoppages had nothing to do with it? Poor productivity and sloppy work did not exist? Foreign competition won because Brits were putting out rubbish in the rare instances they were building anything.
@@4jp dude it doesn’t matter if the products where quality or not. Companies are in the business of making money, and if they can cut their expenses they will. Chinese products are not know for quality, they are known for being cheap. And yet they are the most dominant manufacturer
@@AP-su9oc If British businessman were patriotic?? If British citizens were patriotic they would only buy products made in Britain instead of only buying things for the lowest price. They did it to themselves.
Beer quenches thirst while also providing calories. It sort of acted like an early form of Gatorade. The people in olden times were expending thousands and thousands of kilocalories per day. They needed a cheap source of fuel. Bread and beer/ale filled that role for hundreds of years.
She's right. milk wasn't pasteurized, and the water came from wells dug right next to the outhouses, or from streams that were full of sewage and chemicals.
@@sherryyyberryyy235 Okayyy. Even if they were republican-owned, they’d still be making a profit with those same ideals because both parties are capitalist. 😂
I am not British, but I am ken to find out how Britain turned from the ruler of the world to a nonfactor. It didn't happen in a day. Britain more and more oppose the very reason that made it rich: capitalism. You may say UK is still capitalist country. Not the same free society it used to be. The same as EU countries. They forgot what made them rich. The decline will continue if there is anything left. Adam Smith made UK rich and strong. His descendants destroyed it.
@@sherryyyberryyy235Trump hates democrats. Do you think when he had the tax reform written, that he would do it knowing the top profiting business in our country ,would pay zero in taxes for 2018 and 19 AND ALSO BE DEMOCRAT? They followed his lead after all.Along with many others. They are above paying taxes. - Or how did he say that again? Oh that's right, "smart". Lol - parasites
Actual photographs, sketches, drawings from the period are so rare in those vids.. I've stopped the narration countless times just to take in the "otherness" of the people, postures and settings. Good work!
Daniel, I agree! However, you need to realize that many of the pictures shown here are not from the Victorian era but are much more recent. Still, it is a very interesting documentary.
I just wish they weren't accompanied with silly dialogue or silly sound effects. The photographs are remarkable on their own, and the comedic sounds just come off cheap
When I was a kid, I read a story from a children's book entitled the The Match Stick Girl. It was the 1st time I read a sad story because she died in the cold with a basket full of matches and an empty stomach. She finally got to feast endlessly when she passed on with the food she could only dream of eating when she looked through the glass windows of warm homes. 😭
It puzzles me how little men thought of women's capabilities when they had a woman as reigning Queen for decades. You'd think that would've put out of puff in their chests. So confusing.
@Okiroshi Yes, but she was a very successful queen and did bring a lot of prosperity. I'd expect her accomplishments to speak for the capabilities of women to men, but sadly it was not so.
I imagine they considered the queen to be on a different level with different standards, thanks to, you know, her being to queen. She was royalty and therefore SHE could be capable and powerful, but “normal” women couldn’t be. Or something like that. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time people made up some rationalization to justify maintaining in a certain worldview even when the facts contradict it...
i like that line at 2:07, "Because the unsung heroes who REALLY put the 'Great' into Great Britain, were just the ordinary folk who had to cope with the dramatic changes the world has ever seen."
This era sounds scary. I'm surprised that my great grandparents and grandparents survived through all the daily deadly tasks and lived til their 80's and 90's.
Mine survived by living in the countryside and running a small farm. Fewer things trying to kill you there. Provided your bull isn't trying to kill you of course
People were a HELL of a lot tougher back them, because everything wasn't done for them. Most western countries wouldn't survive an attack today. Ya ready??
People say that in the past life was so much better, the proof being that people lived long lives. Yeah, they were the lucky few with a train of dead people behind them. When my grandfather was born in 1897 his life expectancy was 49 years. He lived to be 88.
"These girls are working in the mines, crawling for 14 hours staright in near darkeness, we must do something about it" "I don't see the problem, frankly..." "They are partially nude sir" *Monocle pops off, jaw drops*
"If Sarah ever got sick, tough luck. The factory was perfectly entitled to discard her like a spent match." Sounds a lot like how American businesses can treat employees still today.
spot on, I've personally experienced a disturbing trend of firings despite showing up on time, professionally dressed and while putting solid effort into every thing I do for work.
That is unbelievable! Where have you heard that? You cannot truly believe that Americans work under that same conditions as these folks in the 1800's. There are people all over the world that live and work in terrible sweat shop, sex trafficking. Do not compare American business to that.
My 5th Great Welsh Grandmother worked in the mines. She left behind a life story. Her husband adored her and she him. It was a true love story. His co workers would say to him, "If anything happens to you, I am going to marry your Mary!" He was sadly killed in a mine accident and though she raised 7 of his children alone she never did remarry:)
Smart smart Woman. She knew how men could be…not all were bad, but surely she heard and saw the suffering of other women and didn’t want to allow that kind of torment into her home.
How did men and women ever time time to meet anyone outside their own family? You'd think no one would have time to have a relationship or let alone having children.
It actually makes me wonder if that's why the practice of arranged marriages weren't fought as much. I mean if you wanted to get married and have children, you probably appreciated any help in finding a person to marry. At least in some of the cases
I think love and lust was a distraction form all the hard work, so it was actually relatively prominent. I mean when all you do is work, with no distractions present, sex is a good way to let off steam and love is a good pass time
I'm impressed that people could cope to live with 16 hour workdays (in horrible workplaces), then doing nothing but chores on your day off. There's literally no time to live or enjoy life. It's a wonder that everyone didn't just off themselves, that seems like a enjoyable option in comparison.
You should watch the Most Dangerous Ways to School documentary series to really have your mind blown. The daily life of the school kids is insane, and they’re modern stories. They’ll literally walk/climb hours a morning on treacherous terrain or in extreme weather, go to class, do the trip again, do chores and/ or go to work, do homework, and go to bed. Rinse and repeat. It’s always really sad when the teachers talk about how much they’re struggling in school, because they deserve a fair go at education :(.
@Eduard Medrea same issue as right now. Office workers in mental works are shown to be much more productive on 6hr shifts max, yet many employers would rather have them for 12hr shifts as long as they didnt have to pay more. In the industrial revolution there were some businessmen who improved productivity greatly by improving labor conditions, but it didnt catch on because most businessmen were/are rather shortsighted. Profits now, worry about accidents/mistakes/burnout later.
one of the reasons for that is that they didn't know there was an actual life to live and enjoy, have hobbies, days off, etc... all they knew about life was to go to work, humans have been brainwashed for so many generations. Also, those who knew there was more to life were few but eventually the unions were created and people started demanding better conditions. If it wasn't for that we'd all still be living on 16+ hours of labour a day :/
That's literally what people _still_ have to cope with in certain jobs. I was a CNA for 7 years, and during that time I worked 14-16 hour shifts, 6 days a week. I was paid minimum wage the whole time and never saw a cent of overtime pay. Is that legal? Probably not. But I would have lost my job if I tried to report it, so I kept my head down and kept working. The only reason I was able to get out of that hell was because my parents were willing to let me move back in with them after I quit and supported me while I looked for another job.
From a long line of Lancs and Mancs. Can confirm this was a thing. Also the coal mining industry is the reason motorcycles were and are so big in the north of England
I’m an American, but I absolutely love Tony Robinson, he is one of my all time favorite television hosts. I think he could make anything super fun and interesting lol.
My dad’s mom and dad were trained tailors from Liverpool and got the heck out of England in the early 1900’s and made their way to Toronto Canada. They made a small fortune and my dad grew up in relative luxury. That would never have been possible had they remained back home.
Toronto then, while not perfect by any means, would have had much cleaner air and water than Liverpool or London, a more sanitary place on the whole. Your grandparents made a good choice I think.
Yeah, my grandmother was a refugee in the UK from Estonia and moved to Vancouver, Canada during WW2. I just spent three long years in England. I was not a fan of the place and way too crowded! I missed the big mountains.
I'd be really interested to see a series on the history of daily life of the lowest common denominator in the countries that Britain had under their control during this time. How was life for the average person in India when it was under British rule, for example? I love looking into the history of the non-elite, it's so easy to look over, but like you said, their backs were what the world rested on.
Honestly, probably not to different from living under the local Raj, or the Mugal dynasty or the Marata Confederacy. The poor suffer under the rich no matter the country or who is in power.
I agree, people talk about how the country is developing fast but the don’t mention how only half the population is moving up. For every one step up the disadvantaged seem to be moving two steps behind.
16:10 "we don't have any photos of her, but she might have looked like this lass holding a giant tambourine" what lass?? what tambourine???? lol it's a blurred image
I'm from Knoydart Scotland and I was told about the horrible jobs my grandfather Alistar Wallace had to do just to help out after the first world war... not as bad as these jobs but close. I pray for these poor kids that had to works and suffer
These jobs and how I was raised serve me well. I wish everyone would learn. We are all human...when I was bean I was told gender doesnt matter... wealth and Status may be nice regards to a full belly and a nice house... what you do for those that are in need mean most.... pray for those just trying to feed their birth and be humble and provide for others. Working class is the most responsible and respective in my eyes
Next time I have a back ache from my sit down job, I'm going to remember those women crawling on their hands and knees 14 hours per day. Can you imagine?
Oh my gosh, the cliffhanger! What happened when Edwin got back to his wife?? I've obviously seen too many crime documentaries, cause as soon as they say she didn't budge, I figured she was dead.
I found some info on www.edwinwaughdialectsociety.com/waugh.html. It says that Edwin's wife moved back in in 1850 and they separated permanently in 1855. So thankfully, his wife, Mary Ann was not dead as it seems from how they phrased it in the show.
When he said she wouldn't budge, I thought she somehow died in her sleep from take your pick of the dangerous drugs and chemicals that were considered "healthy and safe."
Aside from the better pay and conditions the radium girls thought they had...they were allowed to sit and have a lunch break, go to the toilet etc but they were ingesting horrific poison that killed or disfigured them 😔😨
Sarah's life was a living hell. The constant danger and awful work conditions which offcourse nothing was done about. The horrific sexism and torture of work hours and literally no rest would have killed me mentally first. Then all the work the women had to do at home without thanks or a break. I'm glad the women who worked as match girls did strike and stand up for the right to a decent working environment. Not that the Victorian Glaswegians had it much easier. Disease and sewage rampant and cleaning it 12hrs a day non stop by shifting 20tonnes of earth for 25p. Shit what are we complaining about?
@@feralbluee Yes, society is sorely lacking in class consciousness these days. Working class people need it, and feminists need, like we had in the 70s (look up the strike Icelandic women went on).
...sexism? ...what about the mistreated boys and men? You're a joke. You didn't even know or care about this before this video. The sexism lied in women being "protected" from the workplace rather than have their workplace reformed. Women's Suffrage was responsible for most of these women to change into Prostitution. Get out of here with your wrongly placed sexism when it was elite women of first-wave Feminism that unemployed hard-working women because, they didn't want to break a sweat like their governor daddy and wanted to vote without property for no reason. Not because, women were actually losing their limbs nor for women to expand job opportunities.
Same! He shook her to wake and she didn't get up, I was like "oh no she died in her sleep" but then he went on his vacay and the video just ends???? 0_o weirded me out
There's other video about working in the mines in this era. Particularly about kids. The mine shafts were not fully open start to finish, every so often there were sets of doors, they used children to mind these doors. Girls as young as 7 would sit in the pitch-black for 12-hours waiting on a little bell or chime to tell them to open one door or the next as a cart rolled through. Fighting off rats trying to eat their lunch of bread and cheese or biting them in the dark.
I have that book and read it twice (in English). It's an early social realism novel - and it's shockingly well written, you ARE in the corridors in the mines with endless tons of mountain on top of you. Then there are the horses who work and are stabled underground....they go blind after a few years in the pitch black. The living conditions are also vividly described.
@@maxdecphoenix longnosed factory owners just putting the white people into slavery on the excuse of wages without which they wouldve starved. Nothing ever changed
Appalled by the factory's indifference to phossy jaw, the Salvation Army campaigned for the use of safer red phosphorous. I have one of their matchboxes, which says something about lighting the way to a safer life.
I have so much respect for every single one of these people. And I thank this man for not only respecting the men but respecting the women involved too
Yeah I meant this is just the western, sort of white imperialistic idea of what is advanced. "If you don't live how we do, you're backward heathens blablabla". I feel like a lot of people today still think this way. Other countries, other cultures who have different ways of living aren't any less advanced, just live differently. There are cultures that are kind to the environment, where people don't eat sugar and have healthy teeth. Maybe they could learn from such cultures instead of looking down on them.
Those poor matchstick girls remind me of the radium girls. They developed a very similar condition through their constant contact with radium paint, which they used to paint "luminous" watch face dials. They were trained to make fine points on their brushes by rolling the brush between their lips. The radium would then absorb into their body and acted very much like calcium, so it slowly replaced the calcium (often in their faces, but in other parts, too). Ultimately, their face bones were riddled with holes and would shatter or fall out. The poor women suffered horribly. But despite the company's knowledge that radium was very deadly, they were never told...just like the poor matchstick girls. So sad.
ive learned so much history through the years with your voice narrating it, something so comforting in wandering through the ages with you. thank you for it all , cheers !
Programs like this always make me wonder what people a century or two from now will look back on from today and think we're behind the times when we think we're ahead of them.
With the rate of improvement in medical and life extension technologies, you might very well be around to see it. I hope I am. Despite it all, I try to be optimistic about the future. Things tend to improve over time because most people want better, and want better for everyone. Not all, but a solid majority.
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria We're not even close to the carrying capacity of the solar system. A proper Kardashev 2 dyson swarm with O'neill cylinders and terraformed planets, all possible under known science and maybe even practical within a century or two (the O'neill cylinders part, terraforming is a centuries or millennia-long application of sheer brute force), has a carrying capacity measured septillions. Thar's just this solar ststem. Throw in the hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way, and the fact that we can conceive of propulsion systems that would make travel the galaxies in our local cluster also possible, and the seeming absence of any other life in the universe (there's something, somewhere, almost certaintly, but the Fermi Paradox is complicated), and we could conceivably support every human to ever live even if no one dies anymore, right up until the heat death of the universe. And hey, for anyone that decides that kind of a lifespan isn't for them, or if they get bored with life, there's always an exist stategy. Just stop using the life extension technology. Sorry, I just never get the "people aren't meant to live that long because it isn't natural" argument. Nothing in our modern world is natural. Even our "all-natural, non-GMO" crops were genetically modified by selective cultivation over generations. They're about as artificial as whatever building you're in, whatever device you're using to access the internet, and honestly, about as natural as you or I.
My grandfather worked in the coal mines when he was 12. My dad told me that he would drive the mules pulling the coal cars and got paid 10 cents a load. This was around 1920.
Same thing for Sweden ( Railroads , Göta Kanal etc. . .www.gotakanal.se/en/the-gota-canal-history/gota-canal-history/ ) , and in many other countries . But history is , most of the time , about the ruling classes . . . :O) .
@@RattusSwedicus or anywhere there were factories or mining. Indentured servants were also slaves. they could be sold for what THEY OWED their "owners" for paying for passage over here and anything they broke or otherwise did wrong. a lot of them never did get out of debt. anyone remember this song? "You load 16 tons and what do you get? another day older and deeper in debt. St. Peter don't you call me, i can't go. I owe my life to the Company Store." coal miners. . . Tennesee Earnie Ford, (1955), Johnny Cash. . .
The very reason why I clicked this video in the first place. I thought it was about those match girls that we heard in the story of the Little Match Girl.
7:07 Up until this time "the fastest thing around had four legs and ate straw." Horses are fed various grains and hay, ideally allowed to graze on grass. Straw is what's left over when certain crops, like oats and wheat are harvested. It has no nutritional value but is good as animal bedding. Hay is long grass that is grown, cut, allowed to dry before being stored. It's essential food for horses, cattle and other animals who otherwise aren't given access to pasture or browse. Hay doesn't make good bedding and straw isn't good as animal feed.
@@yashironene7904 Despite the misleading title this is not entirely about match girls. OP's comment is in response to a quote in the video's final segment.
GOD. I hate when this sort of thing happens in vids. Like the host carelessly says a word that they think is interchangable with another, and to someone with the particular knowledge it's So Annoying. #1 example for me is how many people don't know the difference between poisonous and venemous. 😩😩😩 The burden of knowledge.
Wait....What happened to Mary Ann? I thought he was going to say, "...and when Edwin returned home, Mary Ann was still in bed, where he left her...though _now_ he realized she was stone cold..."...
Hans Christian Anderson's story "The little match girl" is about an orphan who works on the streets selling matches for her living. She dies of exposure and starvation.
@@updownstate I don't think she wa san orphan? As I remember, she was scared to go home because she hadn't sold any matches and her father would punish her.
@@gigahorse1475 yeah in a lot of ways it is,im still missing the "more pointless our way of living seems" part....im curious what the poster ment,i mean there is definitely plenty about modern society that is pointless and arbitrary
@@robhogate2312 People who lived in those situations back then didn’t have the luxury of having existential crises. Today we have more time, energy, and resources to discover meaning in our lives. Not to diminish the fact that we still have our own struggles as well.
@@gigahorse1475 first you really think nobody back then questioned their lives??having an existential crisis has nothing to do with luxury....but i will concede that yes id assume its a way bigger problem these days,but i mean how many ppl are just faceless drones sitting in office buildings contributing nothing in the bigger scheme of things....going to do jobs that mean nothing in order to buy things they don't really need that will break with in a short time and be thrown away,masses roaming around especially in citys with no real skills to survive in life....the next generation being hobbled by the "adults" of society so they reach "adulthood" with even less tangible skills,back in the day by 15 16 they were capable of maintaining employment,households and families today ppl in there 30s 40s cant figure that out....the extreme forced conformity of society making ppl think and act alike because ppl who dare to stray from it are shunned and attacked,forcing them to hold these crappy pointless jobs in order to buy the right uniforms and the right toys....oh God then you get to those toys,technology has hurt society as much if not more then its helped Like i said there is definitely plenty pointless and arbitrary things about modern society....there was a lot bad about the past but there was also a lot that was good about it too,things that we have lost and need to bring back
100 years from now they will make a documentary about "Why every british documentary starts with the presenter talking and walking towards the camera and i hope to be here for it.
40 hour work weeks leave you little time to enjoy your life and life is short and temporary. You're allowed to complain, be sad, and feel discouraged, and most importantly you're allowed to be happy. Be kind to yourself.
Complaining is the exact spirit they wanted though, not letting your employer force you to work your life away when you could be spending time with family is exactly what they did!
@@CRYSTALCLAWED these women spent more time working. That was the point of my comment. House work took hours. Just think of a washing clothes. You think they had time to spend with kids and husband? Now women get paid for their work. Not sure why that offends you. Now they have time to spend with their family when most of the day was spent doing house work. Edit: and now men are stepping up and doing house work. Which means women today have more time and money.
The whole Feminist movement is an insult to women. A woman's strength and importance that wasn't reformed with suffrage but, outright banned and unemployed women and girls to become whores on the street. They pretend women never worked with men for equal treatment and pay. Good or bad. They just favor one other the other. These women would laugh at where Feminism is today because, it fails to recognize these dark chapters in history for women.
I am absolutely thrilled for this to be on here. Cannot wait to watch them all!!! Finding his worst jobs episodes back about 9 years ago, as a American was absolutely life changing.
My great great grandfather had x6 big shires horses that pulled beer wagons in London. Also some of my family brought shell fish on boats down the Thames to trade. My great grandmother had a grocery store.
@Kabuki Kitsune the average age of entry into prostitution around the world nowadays is also between 12-14 years old, presumably younger (it's very hard to determine this)
But it was reality, for a long time. So appreciate what ordinary people did for ordinary people today. It was a long fight for equality, child labour and lots more, even for animals was terrible.
The resilience of our ancestors is stunning. Even today I'm filled with thoughts of suicide, I don't know how you manage to go on when your life is nothing but suffering.
Sorry to hear this and hope you do well by now. But to answer your question, I think it's because they got too much work to contemplate about their life all too often. I assume, that's why people managed to do surprisingly well during these times....or experienced some kind of burnout and fell into alcoholism.
Honestly! As awful as it sounds, I just *don't* understand where these people got the will to live and keep working like this, even though it was extremely unlikely their life would ever get much better. (How they could convince themselves to bring children into the same life....)
Osteonecrosis of the jaw… oddly a side effect of bone strengthening prescription medications for osteoporosis of the entire drug class called bisPHOSPHONATES. - pharmacist here.
Up until I was about 30, if I went into a store, I HAD to buy something, even if it was a quarter pack of gum. I thought that if I was to leave empty handed, they would automatically find me suspect and accuse me of stealing. There would be no way in hell I would be stopped and accused. Still to this day, I'm 39, I am petrified to go shopping with people, people steal and I will not be associated with it, lol! I think it must be my anxiety, huh, never thought of it like that
Amazing... -_- Working conditions are much better today but I can't help thinking that it's just a few steps up from what it was.. Surely, it can be much better. It's like standards got so ridiculously low, that we are now content to have it half way up.
And in parts of the world where there is a lot of poverty the conditions have barely changed! It saddens me that this stuff still isn't gone. Just look at the poor Pakistani and Indian people who process fabrics and work 14 hour days with their fingers nearly down to the bone. Truly tragic, we mustn't settle for this. This battle will not end until every person has proper living and working conditions.
@@bettievw I agree. I remember the tragedy when a sweat shop building collapsed in India. I was shocked. I thought things would change after that. But people seem to focus only on low prices. Without thinking that someone slaved away to make that low price possible....... sad -_-
Love your show! The series is complete and I'm super grateful for that since I tried PBS Secrets if the Dead and Its bunk. They don't really have many videos. Speaking of mines, my dad got a summer job mining Uranium in Colorado. Que the bizarre songs about the Uranium Mining Fad in the early 50's (incredibly surreal ) So being a teen he chucked a stone in his pocket to keep, uranium seemed so Neat! It glowed. My gramps grabbed him and said, Boy, don't you go putting that in your pocket."
I love history of common folk... much more engaging than squabbles and exploits of kings and queens and nobles. Because these are stories of the majority, my own ancestors among them. Pity history mainly focusses on the elite minority, which it gives a newcomer to English history a very skewed impression of what the country was really like. I love this kind of doco, especially when it has Tony Robinson presenting! I urge any T.V. producers: more of this kind of subject!!!
I saw a program where you rented a space to stand each night. There was a rope in front so that when you fell asleep, the rope would keep you from face planting on the floor. I think it was a ?penny a night.
@@feralbluee Oh come on, lighten up. It was funny 🤣 My grandparents came to this country from Mexico and would tell similar stories. No one got mad. We all laughed how ridiculous things were back in the "good old days."
The whole idea we have today of Victorian ladies laying around on chaise lounges, tight-lacing their corsets to be fashionable, and arranging tea for visitors is just disgusting and disrespectful. Women were worked to the bone, just as much, if not more than men, all while being treated worse, having no rights, and often not being able to keep the money they earned. That money went to their abusive husbands or household patriarchs. It shows a lot when a society does not care that you’re being killed for your work, only that you aren’t wearing the right clothes while doing it, and shaming the women who would be in such levels of undress rather than the work that requires it.
In the story "The McGregor Affair", set in 1800s Scotland, dramatized in the early 1960s on both "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and Boris Karloff's "Thriller", one character was a different sort of "match girl"; she'd sing a little song about selling matches, then a man would pay a seemingly exorbitant price for one match and walk away with her. Given what she was really selling, her job came with a different, but just as formidable, set of dangers.
Can you imagine dragging heavy loads of coal through the tunnels with just your muscles and bones? They probably had black lung, and were beaten up by their bosses? Yowch. Not to mention crawling on your hands knees and bare feet.. you'd have open blisters, and scrapes all over. If we think we have it rough, take a look at what life was like back then.
Ok, but what happened with Edwin's wife? Why didn't she get up that morning? What happened when he got home? was she pissed he left without her? did he find she died in her sleep the previous night?
I read The Little Matchstick Girl by Hans Christian Andersen as a child. I read it to myself. And then I cried and cried and was depressed for days. After being used to Disney movies and cheerful kid's shows, I was absolutely stunned at what I was reading. That story had a permanent impact on me. To this day I can't read it without sobbing as a grown man. 30 seconds in and i go into full sob-mode. A mere mention of it and something gets tugged inside. There's a reason it was never made into a full feature film like Han's The Little Mermaid. Nobody would be able to sit through it undisturbed. You'd have people walking out of cinemas with panic attacks and wailing uncontrollably. It is "the" saddest story ever written. It has a lot of nuance to hit you in the feels in just the right way, with gentle and tender words that stick you like daggers. The fact that type of suffering really happened makes it even worse. The reality that story presents is a disgusting stain on humanity as a whole, to think that people are ok with exploiting each other, and to such extremes too.
This story is in our themepark over here as an attraction to listen and watch to story. It's in a fairytale forest and little children with their parents watch it.
Just found your site by exploring Mt Etna. You are doing a fantastic job of bringing history to life. Thank you very much. Working my way through your archives.❤️🇨🇦
LOL,,,,,obviously you’ve never been in an Amazon warehouse, they are payed well and are given tons of freebes. ,,,,,,and no I’m not an fan boy but the reality is they are treated well.
Wow this sent back a flood of memories of this book our librarian read us in elementary school called ‘The Little Match Girl’ I was sad about it for weeks
