What Would Your Turn of the Century Job Have Been?

HISTORY

By: Zoe Samuel

5 Min Quiz

Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

The 1800's were the century in which the Industrial Revolution moved from a dawn of possibility to a day of opportunity. As it came to a close, monarchies stood on the brink, Luddites were busy smashing up motorized plows, and liberal movements like women's suffrage were born alongside evil ones such as fascism. Queen Victoria's reign was ending, and the British Empire was at the height of its power.  

Railways snaked across the world as steamships displaced sails and electricity began to threaten the hegemony of gas lights. Robber Barons were already making fortunes in coal, steel, and oil, as the great energy companies of the next 100 years were born: Shell, British Petroleum, Chevron, and more. Meanwhile, the Wright brothers eyed the skies, as the Lumiere brothers lit up the first silver screen, and a little boy named Walt was born to the Disney family. Around 40% of the population worked on the land and a further 30% in service. Civil rights were a twinkle in the distance. Very few people could have known that the horrors of World War One were only just around the corner.

It was a time of increasingly rapid change. For some, that was disorientating and upsetting, as the Romantic ideal of a bucolic, natural world gave way to the bright lights of modernity. For others, it was an opportunity to make out like a bandit. Most were somewhere in the middle. Take this quiz to find out where you would have landed amid one of the most exciting periods in human history!

How ethical are you?

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Can you take orders?

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What's your idea of a luxury holiday?

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Do you love money?

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What fashion suits you?

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What's your opinion on the Industrial Revolution?

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How much do you like union-busting?

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What do you think of women's suffrage?

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How do you feel about the rise of fascism?

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What about the birth of communism?

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Do you think your house would be an early adopter of electric light?

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What's the best way to plow a field?

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What hours do you want to work?

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Were you sent to all the best schools?

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How much would the birth of the anarchist movement affect you?

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Do you love wide open spaces?

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Do you miss the passing of the old world?

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Do you like to live on the cutting edge?

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Do you need any prospect for promotion in your life?

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How do you like to relax?

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How do you feel about family life?

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How often would you like to get drunk?

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Could you stay sane in a house that didn't have running water?

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How important is being respectable to you?

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Do you think you would have seen World War One coming?

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If your family wasn't already there, would you have been likely to migrate to America around 1900?

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Do you love the bright lights of the big city?

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How resourceful are you when things go awry?

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Do you mind spending an awful lot of time in meetings?

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Would you want your kids to end up in the same line of work?

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