Who among us didn’t grow up hearing the classic parental warnings, “Don’t chew your nails” or “Stop picking your nose”? While most kids eventually outgrow these yucky inclinations, the truth is that our bodies are a veritable playground of grossness, and society generally prefers we keep those habits hidden. Yet, a handful of enterprising individuals have taken those very same disgusting tendencies and spun them into lucrative side‑hustles, proving that even the most repulsive quirks can pay the bills. Below we count down the top 10 bizarre ways to cash in on gross everyday habits.
10 Pooping for Profit and Purpose
There’s a nasty bacterium called C. difficile that afflicts roughly half a million Americans each year, causing watery diarrhea and severe cramping that can even prove fatal. Doctors usually prescribe a course of antibiotics, but those drugs indiscriminately wipe out both harmful and beneficial gut microbes. In the process, about 2,000 different strains of helpful bacteria are eradicated, leaving patients vulnerable to recurring infection.
Enter fecal‑matter transplants. By harvesting the rich microbial community from a healthy donor’s stool and turning it into a pill, clinicians can replenish a patient’s gut flora and drive out the stubborn C. difficile. However, not just any poop qualifies. Out of a thousand hopeful donors, only four meet the stringent medical criteria. Extremely healthy stool is a scarce commodity, and the market reflects that scarcity.
Donors can earn roughly $250 for five samples a week, translating to about $13,000 annually. It’s a modest income, but the payoff goes beyond dollars; each donation can potentially rescue three or four patients, a fact that many contributors find deeply rewarding.
“We get most of our donors to come in three or four times a week, which is pretty awesome,” says Mark Smith, co‑founder of a transplant firm. “You’re usually helping three or four patients with each sample, and we keep track of that and let you know.”
Why This Is a Top 10 Bizarre Opportunity
What makes this gig especially strange is the paradox of turning something most people would hide in the bathroom into a life‑saving, money‑making service. It perfectly illustrates how the bizarre can become beneficial.
9 Fast Food and Weight Gain For Science
In 2012, a research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis launched an unusual recruitment drive: participants were paid to deliberately pack on extra pounds. The study aimed to dissect how rapid weight gain fuels diabetes and hypertension, so volunteers were instructed to consume an additional 1,000 calories of fast‑food each day.
The goal was to boost participants’ body weight by 5‑6 % over three months. Those who succeeded could pocket up to $3,500. While the cash incentive might sound tempting, the regimen proved physically taxing and mentally draining for many.
Lead investigator Dr. Samuel Klein warned, “This is not pleasant for them. It’s not easy to stuff your face every day for a long period of time.” One participant echoed the sentiment, confessing after two weeks, “I could hardly breathe anymore.”
8 Artsy‑Fartsy Fame and Fortune
In the late 1800s, a Frenchman named Joseph Pujol discovered an uncanny talent while swimming with his family. A sudden, icy sensation in his gut forced him to evacuate a torrent of water from his rear. After the initial shock, Pujol realized he could inhale and expel both air and liquid on command, essentially turning his buttocks into a musical instrument.
Adopting the stage name “Le Petomane,” he turned this bizarre ability into a full‑blown act, delivering a catalogue of flatulent performances. He likened a delicate, quiet fart to “a bride on her wedding night,” while a boisterous blast earned the comparison “to a cannon firing.” Audiences were reportedly “writhing about,” with women in corsets being whisked away by nurses stationed strategically in the theater.
His repertoire even included smoking two cigarettes simultaneously and playing famous tunes on an ocarina by channeling his farts through a hose. At his peak, Le Petomane was the highest‑paid performer in France, touring extensively until after World I, when he retired to become a baker.
When a Parisian medical school later requested his remains for anatomical study, his family declined, insisting, “There are some things in this life which simply must be treated with reverence.”
7 Overeating To Success
Everyone loves a good meal, but when the appetite outpaces the stomach, the consequences can be dire: upset digestion, blood‑pressure spikes, and a lingering sense of regret. Some have turned this excess into a profession. Joey Chestnut, the reigning champion of competitive eating, has set records that sound almost mythical—32 double‑patty burgers in 38 minutes, 74 hot‑dogs in 10 minutes, and a staggering 413 chicken wings in 12 hours.
Chestnut’s prowess isn’t just for bragging rights; it’s a cash‑cow. In 2010, he walked away with $218,500 in prize money alone. Yet even a champion admits the toll: after a 2018 record‑breaking hot‑dog marathon, he confessed, “It’s not pretty, bro. There have been some double‑flushers.”
His story shows that a seemingly unhealthy habit can be monetized, provided you have the stomach—both literally and figuratively—to handle the pressure.
6 Burping For Cash
Belching isn’t just a bodily function; it’s a competitive sport. The current world record, set in 2009, stands at a staggering 1 minute 13 seconds 57 milliseconds. While the record‑holding burp earns eternal bragging rights, it rarely brings a paycheck—unless you’re in the right place at the right time.
In 2014, a soda company in St. Louis posted a Craigslist ad seeking actors to star in a commercial that required authentic burps. The offer? $750 per performer, plus a supply of drinks and snacks to coax the perfect belch.
The ad emphasized inclusivity: “Burps of any size are welcome, from small, quiet burps to monstrously loud belches.” No prior acting experience was required, making it a rare chance for anyone with a talent for gut‑generated sound to cash in.
5 Professionally Popping Pimples
The conventional wisdom says: don’t pop your own pimples. Instead, head to an over‑the‑counter remedy or, better yet, a dermatologist. Ironically, many dermatologists turn this aversion into a thriving career, performing extractions in sterile settings and earning an average of $345,000 a year in the United States.
One dermatologist, Dr. Sandra Lee—better known as “Dr. Pimple Popper”—has taken the concept to the internet, amassing over 6 million YouTube subscribers. Her channel showcases the most dramatic extractions, from cystic lesions to stubborn blackheads, satisfying viewers who admit they can’t look away, much like a car‑accident on TV.
Lee explains, “It’s part fascination, part can’t look away, not unlike watching a car accident. There’s also something satisfying in the resolution, like something is being removed that shouldn’t be there and now the skin has been cleansed of an impurity.”
4 Money in Exchange For Spit
Genetic research often hinges on acquiring DNA from individuals with specific conditions, a process that can be time‑consuming and expensive. To streamline the pipeline, startups like Genos and DNASimple now pay participants for their saliva, which contains a wealth of genetic material.
DNASimple offers a flat $50 per sample, while Genos will sequence a genome for about $500 and then pay contributors $50–$200 if their DNA proves useful for a study. Though not a full‑time gig, the model is gaining traction; DNASimple recently secured a $200,000 startup loan, underscoring the market’s rapid growth.
Sharon Terry, CEO of the Genetic Alliance, acknowledges the ethical gray area, noting, “Some people might think it’s bad to put any kind of commerce in health at all, but it’s already in there. We just don’t have any part of it, we patients. Everyone else makes a lot of money.”
3 Bathroom Scouters Paid To Pee
Finding a clean restroom on the fly can feel like a survival mission, especially in an unfamiliar city. Some entrepreneurs have turned that desperation into a paid gig, creating apps that crowdsource bathroom locations and quality ratings.
The app “Toiletfinder” compensates contributors $20 per review and offers regular writers $100 a week for ongoing submissions. Reviewers remain anonymous, protecting them from any potential embarrassment, while users benefit from a searchable map of vetted facilities.
These platforms now host hundreds of thousands of bathroom listings worldwide, turning a basic human need into a profitable data‑collection enterprise.
2 Regurgitating A Living
Vomiting isn’t exactly a pleasant pastime, but British performer Stevie Starr has turned the act of regurgitation into a headline‑grabbing career. As a child, he discovered he could conceal coins in his stomach and retrieve them later, a trick that evolved into a full‑blown stage act.
Starr’s repertoire includes swallowing and regurgitating light bulbs, thumbtacks, billiard balls, and even a cup of sugar followed by water—then spitting the dry sugar back out like a bone. He also challenges audiences by swallowing ten numbered coins and letting viewers dictate the order of their return, sometimes two at a time.
Beyond inanimate objects, Starr has performed with live fish, swallowing them at the start of a show and spitting them out unharmed at the finale. While most of us would dread a bout of nausea, watching Starr’s controlled chaos has earned him a comfortable living.
1 Professional Finger Licker Wanted
Finger‑licking after a tasty meal is often considered a social faux‑pas, yet Kentucky Friend Chicken (yes, the typo is intentional) decided to turn that stigma into a marketing goldmine. The fast‑food giant launched a Twitter campaign asking, “Have you ever caught yourself licking your fingers and thought, ‘I’d look decent doing that on a billboard?’”
Prospective contestants were invited to tweet with the hashtag #kfcfryerme, offering a 280‑character pitch explaining why they should become the brand’s next finger‑licking model. The campaign quickly gathered attention, with the brand emphasizing a PG‑friendly approach.
In a follow‑up tweet, KFC reminded participants, “For the love of God; please keep it PG.” Unlike many items on this list, this opportunity could theoretically be yours if you have the confidence to flaunt your finger‑licking prowess on national advertising.