If there’s one thing I know on this Labor Day, it’s that work can change a lot, including where we work, what we do, and how we do it.
Probably the biggest change has been technological: the world of work just relies on computers, devices and automation so much more than before.
But not every job has become computerized.
There’s older technology that still has a home in the world, and there are still people who still make it all work.
Untapped New York profiled the Schweitzer family, which runs the Gramercy Typewriter Company in Manhattan.
As the name suggests, they repair and restore typewriters.
And yes, there are still people who like to use typewriters.
Actor Tom Hanks is a huge typewriter fan, for one.
He’s been quoted as saying that a typewriter is a blend of art and engineering, and that each page a typewriter types is a unique work of art.
Braille is still read and typed by many blind people, even in the era of screenreaders and devices with voices.
Plus, there are some people who just prefer the clicks and clacks of a Smith Corona over tapping on a tablet or leaning over a laptop.
Some of them include TV and movie producers, judging by the many vintage shows out there.
When a show is set in the past, the production team will reach out of typewriter shops like Gramercy so they can rent the kind of machines people would have used in those times.
The typewriter industry isn’t the same as its heyday, or even just a few decades ago, but it’s kind of nice to know that the world still has need for typewriters, and for the people who make them work.
I’m not sure sitting in ice for hours up to your shoulders is a job, but the guy definitely worked… that’s after this.
Josef Koeberl of Austria did just that last week for two hours, 30 minutes and 57 seconds.
In doing so he set a new world record for full-body contact with ice, and then hopefully got his core temperature back up.
Inside One of NYC’s Last Typewriter Stores (Untapped New York)
Chilling out: Austrian breaks record for standing in box of ice (Reuters)
