Before Affordable Alarm Clocks, People Hired Human 'Knocker-Uppers'
In 19th-century Britain and Ireland, professional 'knocker-uppers' tapped on bedroom windows with long bamboo poles to wake workers for morning shifts.
Why / How?
When mechanical alarm clocks were costly and unreliable, knocker-uppers walked early-morning routes—and wouldn't leave a client's window until the worker came to the glass to prove they were awake.