Before alarm clocks Knocker-Uppers stayed up all night and tapped on people’s windows to wake them up
Originally they used to knock on people’s doors but realised that they were creating such a commotion that some neighbours got woken up for free, so over time they changed their approach and lightly tapped on the upstairs bedroom window with long sticks or used peashooters.
Watch a video of a knocer-upper here:
