During the Industrial Revolution, factory workers endured brutal conditions that would shock modern sensibilities. Men, women, and children routinely worked 12 to 16-hour shifts six or seven days per week in environments dominated by dangerous machinery, toxic fumes, and suffocating air. Factories were often poorly lit, with only sunlight filtering through small windows to illuminate the dusty, smoke-filled interiors where steam-powered machines belched constant pollution. Workers in coal mines