A fact from Crossing sweeper appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 16 March 2010 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that crossing sweepers(pictured) helped nineteenth-century women avoid having their dresses soiled with horse dung?
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I'm not sure it's a "direct" parallel. I can't speak for London, but at least in the U.S. the so-called "squeegee man" is for the most part viewed as a nuisance who does not offer a useful service. Attitudes toward crossing sweepers were, at the least, mixed, and many were indeed viewed as performing valuable work. I'll be expanding the article in the next day or two and will hopefully include some information on this. --Bigtimepeace | talk | contribs20:34, 13 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]
"In mid-19th century New York City, crossing-sweeping was common among young girls who had even fewer options for earning an income than did lower class boys (with occasional prostitution being a notable exception)."
How is the single occupation of prostitution an exception to young girls having fewer options than young boys. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.84.93.4 (talk) 08:05, 1 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]
