It’s Halloween! And in honour of the scariest day of the year we’ve compiled a list of the world’s most terrifying places to work. After reading these we’ll never be frightened of Monday morning meetings again…
1. Above the clouds: The Shard has become one of London’s most iconic buildings but who cleans all those windows? Well, someone very brave. In 2012 a cleaner had to be rescued from his cradle after being caught in high winds. Impressively, after a cup of coffee he was back at work the same day.
2. On an oil rig: Oil rig workers spend up to three weeks on a platform in the middle of the sea working 12 hour days in teams as small as 20 people. Not only is it remote but it’s hard physical work involving heights and extreme weather.
3. The hottest place in the world: This honour goes to Death Valley, California where temperatures of up to 57 °C have been recorded. It’s popular with daredevil tourists who must abide by very strict rules to visit. But spare a thought for the tour guides, shopkeepers and rangers who have to work there all year round.
4. Outer space: OK, we admit this might be more exciting than scary, but imagine being trapped in a tiny box, 62 miles above the earth constantly wondering if Alien could really happen…
5.Driving the Google Street View car: Google’s drivers map every street in the world so there’s bound to be a few hairy moments. Chilling incidents include: being threatened by a gunman in Detroit, a seagull attack in Brighton, and too many abandoned dummies, desolate ghost towns and people in creepy masks to count.
6.On stage: For many of us even giving a short presentation can be nerve-racking. So it can’t be easy being a comedian whose job it is to stand on stage every night trying to make drunk people laugh. Especially if they’re expecting something outrageous and you’re more mild and old-fashioned.
7. At The Tower of London: The Tower is said to be haunted by a medley of ghosts including Anne Boleyn, a troop of spirit soldiers, and even a phantom polar bear which belonged to Henry III. Perhaps they’re friendly ghosts but it must be spooky for the resident Beefeaters walking the grounds at night.
8. With spiders: Arachnophobia is among the most common phobias in the UK, with many a brave soul crumbling at the presence of a spider in the bath. But someone has to study them. That privilege goes to arachnologists who spend their days classifying and researching spiders — and presumably their nights being avoided by people.
9. Under the sea: Deep sea divers can spend up to a month in a chamber deep under the ocean. Once there, duties can include: maintaining pipelines, searching for criminal evidence or even farming fish. Another career not for the faint-hearted.
10. On Crossrail: Digging tunnels under a big city is tough enough without stumbling upon a plague pit. In 2013, thirteen skeletons dating from around 1348 were found in Farringdon. In fact, over the years so many similar discoveries have been made while digging tube stations that the Museum of London is running out of storage space.
Is your job even scarier? Let us know in the comments!
