Two things that never crossed my mind, until this past week: geese being able to bring down a plane (as they did with the US Airways jet); and the role of bird hunters at some airports to avoid such accidents.
Who knew a job like that existed?
MSNBC.com has put together a list of other unlikely travel-related jobs. Some are specific to tourist destinations like the LEGO Professional Gluer at LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, California, or the Sewer Guide for tours through subterranean Paris. Others combat seemingly uncontrollable forces of nature: animals, gravity, and offensive tourists.
Monkey Men: To keep the langur and rhesus monkeys from stealing the guest cookies at the Amanbagh Resort in Rajasthan, India, these four men walk the grounds, armed with slingshots.
Coconut Safety Engineer: The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas makes sure that someone is around to pre-emptively pluck coconuts before they knock out one of their poolside guests.
Manners Police: This volunteer brigade in Venice responds to something even more offensive than the pigeons: the uncouth tourists, who walk around bare-chested or sit in the middle of sidewalks.
Curious about some of the other positions mentioned? Hotel Falconer (Santa Barbara), Karaoke Taxi Driver (Helsinki), Duckmaster (Memphis), and Tourism Ambassador (Japan).