Labor Day

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Breaker boys in #9 Breaker, Pennsylvania Coal Company mine at Hughestown Borough near Pittston in January 1911.  Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine via Shorpy

From a commenter:

If I recall my mining knowledge correctly, I think the breaker house was where the larger chunks of coal were broken down into smaller, more manageable sizes. This was accomplished using a series of augers and large rollers. I've heard stories of breaker boys falling into the machinery and being mangled. The companies didn't care. Common business mentality was that workers were just cogs in the machine to be replaced when they were of no further use to the Companies.

I saw a poll recently that asked the question, "If time travel existed, was readily available, and you were guaranteed to return to the present, would you prefer to travel to the past or to the future?"

61% of respondents said they'd go back to the past. Why does everyone always think that the past was such a great place?

Happy Labor Day!