Before alarm clocks were cheap, people in Britain paid a stranger to wake them up.

They were called knocker-uppers. Every morning they walked the streets with a long pole and tapped on bedroom windows until the worker inside got up.

Some used a pea shooter instead. In London, Mary Smith fired dried peas at windows to wake her customers.

And who woke up the knocker-upper? People were asking that even back then. Tag the friend who needs one.

1. 0:00Scene 1

   Hook: The pre-alarm dilemma

   Before cheap alarm clocks, people in Britain paid a stranger to wake them up.

   A stick figure sleeps peacefully in bed unaware of time, until a massive antique coin floats down and buys time.

   iron bedsteadcracking clock silhouettevintage amber coin pouchVictorian roofline
2. 0:08Scene 2

   The Setup: Long poles and misty streets

   They were called knocker-uppers. Every morning they walked the streets with a long pole, tapping on windows until the workers inside got up.

   A roaming knocker-upper stick figure walks the cobblestone street and taps an upstairs window with a huge pole.

   bamboo polecobblestone pavementVictorian street lamptwo-story brick facade
3. 0:16Scene 3

   The Turn: Mary Smith's pea shooter technique

   Some used a pea shooter instead. In London, Mary Smith fired dried peas at her customers' windows.

   A determined knocker-upper stick figure pulls out a pea-shooter pipe and rapidly blasts dried green peas at a window.

   pea-shooter blowpipeglowing green pea pelletsrattling window glasstrajectory speed lines
4. 0:24Scene 4

   Payoff and CTA: The unsolved mystery

   So who woke up the knocker-upper? Tag the friend who needs one.

   The stick figure ponders the paradox with a huge question mark before pointing forward to tag a friend.

   oversized question marklooping arrow circlesmartphone screen frameat-mention tag icon

Format

9:16 Reels and Shorts

Scenes

4

Narration

English, male narrator

Captions

On, burned in

Quality

HD 720p

Style

Cream paper, bold line

These are the only choices made. The scenes, drawings, narration timing and captions were all generated from the script.