Growing up to be a fireman is a classic kidskin fantasy . Between induce to labor the vainglorious hand truck , spray the giant hose , and saving people ’s lives , it ’s well-off to see the appeal . But despite their deed , fireman do n’t spend all day fighting existent fires . In fact , arrange out blaze accounts for just a fraction of their regular duties .

As a retired ardor captain toldMental Floss in 2015 , firefighters need to roleplay as “ plumbers , lineman , psychologists , and mechanics ” depending on the scenario . For many situation — such as broken pipage and gas leaks—911 starter default to sending the local fire department . aesculapian emergencies in reality make up the majority of their birdsong , and today ’s firefighters are expected to double as EMTs and sometimes paramedic . They also do deliver the occasional true cat from a tree , though not as often as they do on TV .

In the latest episode of The List Show , Mental Floss editor - in - chief Erin McCarthy covers one engrossing fact about 10 jobs that many of us , as kids , envisioned as our adult careers . But as it turns out , it can be hard to make puerility dream a reality . Many a Millennial who watchedThe Voyage of the Mimiin school daydream of being a nautical biologist … until they realize that studying ocean spirit is n’t as soft as befriending some aquatic fauna at the local marina . The career requires a serious science background signal in subjects like environmental science , zoology , andbiochemistry . And fry who want to be spaceman probably never thought about what it would be like to do a No . 2 in distance , which iswaymore complicated than it is here on Earth .

Being an astronaut isn’t as glamorous as you were led to believe.

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