[rabosi]

I think most industrialized humans have gotten really spoiled and/or lazy recently. Not saying this is bad necessarily, perhaps we're just reaping the fruit of our previous generations' labor. But you'd be truly amazed by what we can accomplish when we put our minds to it, especially if motivated by the crack of a whip at our backs or threat of loss of limb or life (how about some pyramids).
Manpower still rule in places like Bangladesh. I saw on Discovery channel men stripping paint to bare metal using old hacksaw blades. Try that at home.