People reveal 14 'insane' jobs no one will believe exist: 'Hired to apologize'

Gone are the days when people had to slog away to secure a job. Today, it seems, you can apparently earn money just to sit and watch a building collapse. Yes, we're serious! From hiring folks only to apologize to recruiting someone because of their geographical location, people shared the most 'insane' jobs that no one will believe exist. An individual who goes by u/positive_spirit_1585 on Reddit asked, "What’s a bullshit job you can’t believe actually exists?" and the 15 responses totally blew our minds!

1. Toilet, chair, and pet food tester

"Toilet tester, I get paid to have bowel movements and write up reports on how practical the toilet is. I work 10-hour shifts." - u/redneptune2

"Pet food taster. A literal human whose job is to eat kibble and say, "Hmm, notes of chicken.'" - u/entirepin6192

"In the late 90’s I was a 'chair tester' for a worldwide manufacturer. Before a new chair/recliner was rolled out, I’d spend 8 hours a day for a month sitting in the prototype and reclining it like 1,500 times a day, and then give a weekly report." - u/davepillman

2. Spray water on horses

"Ok, maybe more dream retirement job vs. bullshit job, but there are national park employees at Assateague Island who drive golf carts around the parking lots and spray the horses with water guns that just will not leave visitors alone as they are trying to pack/unpack their cars in hopes of stealing food." - u/ellebea88

3. Celebrity book curator

"Celebrity book curator, someone celebrities hire to curate books for them to not necessarily read, but to be photographed holding. A regular book curator would be hired by someone who has a private library space to curate books to fill their shelves. Dream job, to be honest!" - u/witch_dyke

4. Watch shows and document everything they said

"Years ago, I dated a guy who worked for a movie studio, and his job was to watch talk shows and listen to radio shows and document anything they said about a particular movie/actor/director. At the time, closed captions weren't good enough to just have a computer scrape them, but I wonder if that kind of job is going away with AI getting better." - u/salamat_engot

5. The one who follows the client around the gym

"When I was in between jobs during Covid, I was searching for side hustles/gigs to hold me over while I applied for jobs in my field and interviewed. One gig I came across on Craigslist was to literally follow the client around the gym he went to and sanitize the equipment after he used it. It came with a free gym membership for entry as well." - u/chubby-labrador

6. Human traffic lights

"In the UK, instead of putting up traffic lights all the time for roadworks, they use two people to stand at either end with a go and stop sign. Surely, it would be more productive to have them actually working on the road." - u/agreeable_rub1108

7. Hand models

"Hand models. Paying a celebrity to handle something (like a product for a commercial) when their face isn't showing is expensive as hell, so they pay people with hands that look like the celebrity's so they don't have to pay the celebrity's rate." - u/themadface80

8. Body double for actors

"One time, I got hired as a 'stand-in' for a Hollywood movie that was filming outside of town. I got dressed similarly to the main guy in the shot in case they needed me to stand where he would to adjust lighting, camera stuff, etc. Was there for two days, saw Reese Witherspoon in real life, got fed 2 meals a day, and made like $300. I did absolutely nothing. And I accidentally stole the vest they had me in." - u/vickskag1000

9. Human auto-responder

"A staffing agency once got me a job for a public school where I would log in to the admin’s email, read angry emails from parents, and respond with generic responses like “Great question, Mrs. Smith. Let me get back to you on that.” Later that day, Admin would log in and respond to the parents again with real answers. Not only was my job a privacy concern, but it could’ve been 100% automated. The job didn’t last long because the school district misled the staffing agency. They told them the job would be completely remote, but instead made me come to the school. The only space they could find to put me and a laptop was inside the nurse’s office next to the sick kids. Since the staffing agency determined 'I was intentionally exposed to illness,' I was laid off due to liability. "

  - u/any-adhesiveness5513

10. Hired to only apologize

"There's an entire book about this. The author said one job he came across was while waiting on a carpenter to fix his shelves at the university he worked at, the carpenter had so many requests that the university hired someone to apologize that he couldn't get to it sooner." - u/sergeantman94

11. Hired to watch a building

"In Germany, there was a historic building next to train tracks that belonged to the train company. It was too old to be used, but because of its historic value, they couldn't demolish it. When it got so old that it was at risk of collapse, they hired a guy to watch the building all day. He was supposed to call in in case of a collapse so they could block this train track and prevent a crash. I believe that job existed for several years until they were finally allowed to demolish the building." - u/myynmyyn

12. Balloon changer

"Balloon changer. I met a guy at a car dealership who was busy changing the dull matte-looking balloons to new shiny ones. He said he’s been doing it for 10 years, and he doesn’t even own the business. Works for a nationwide balloon-changing company." - u/then-bet8731

13. Hired because of geographical location

"I spent four years of my life in a job where I was only hired because of my geographical location. The company that employed me was a UK-based firm that needed a presence in Europe to keep operating there after Brexit. I literally had nothing to do apart from receiving my paycheck every month." - u/onmetlapatate

14. Dressed to look good

"Looking good while wearing a suit. There are more of these guys around than you would think; they probably 'earn' a lot more than you do. A LOT more." - u/mrrandomnumber

So, the next time you doubt your abilities and think you're stuck in a weird profession, just remind yourself that nothing is too bizarre to end up on a payroll!