Bung Dropper

Now there's a job title you don't hear very often. The subject of slaughterhouses came up this morning at work and Ed, having worked in the meat processing industry, brought up this job. Basically, you take this device, called a "bung dropper", which looks a bit like a gun and removes an animal's anus and whatnot so that fecal matter doesn't contaminate the meat or the outside of the animal. Here's a picture of one in action on a pig:



It's like this big drill that bores out the waste-eliminating bits of the animal. Ed gave rather graphic descriptions of the whole process of cleaning and dressing a cow. He also related the tale of being in one processing plant when the pneumatic gun failed to penetrate the skull of a black angus steer and it got loose in the slaughterhouse. Ed had never seen people move so fast; all that was left was their outlines in dust just like in the old Looney Toons.

So, when your job gets you down, remember that at least you're not a bung dropper. (Nothing against them, mind you.)