by Moe Zilla

Created on: July 18, 2010

I thought this job didn't exist, until someone on the internet provided links which proved that it did. NPR was interviewing people in Pennsylvania about their political beliefs, and one voter revealed that she had the world's coolest occupation. "I'm actually a taste tester for Hershey," she revealed. It's a job I dreamed about when I was a kid, but someone actually gets paid to drive to the Hershey's chocolate factor in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and sample all their chocolate products.  ("It's a good job..." she told NPR. "They don't go out in the market until we taste them and evaluate them.")

America is full of lots of wonderful and strange enterprises - and there's some very unusual positions that go along with them. You'd think there'd be a lot of serious work involved in being, for example, the senator or representative who passes the legislation in your state capitol. But if that state is Alaska, then nine months out of the year, you don't even have to be there!  The annual sessions "are limited by statute to 90 calendar days," according to Wikipedia. Believe it or not, they're through with their work for the year by April 1 - and then they get a nine-month vacation until the next session starts in January!

We've got dog walkers and cat groomers, and some people even get paid to handle snakes! In Colorado, it can be a real problem if  a wild rattlesnake decides to nest in your backyard, but that's when you call for the professional reptile squad - the "Snake Wranglers." Their web site promises that they'll remove your snakes humanely, and relocate them to a natural habitat in the wilds of Northern Colorado. Remember, it's not just about you. Their motto is "for the sake of the snake." There's some fascinating stories on their web site about snake rescues - but it's got to be one of the strangest jobs in America?

But do you know which American probably has the strangest job of all? Vanna White. Think about For 28 years, she's done exactly one thing. She stands next to a giant row of letters, and as they light up, she walks over to them and flips them over. And she's paid $2 million a year for this (along with her other various endorsements). 28 years of flipping letters has earned her tens of millions of dollars, so obviously she's got a good thing going.

The hardest part of her job is probably pretending to smile at the end of the show if Pat Sajak tells a particularly awful joke!

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