What is a Lawn Mower
If one of your household chores as a child was to mow the lawn, you pretty much know what a lawnmower is. For those who don’t, it is a machine that has one or more revolving blades decides to cut grass at an even length.
There are two types of lawn mowers. The first is the push type model while the other one is the ride mower. The push type model is ideal for use in small residential gardens and lawns. For larger spaces like a football field or a golf course, you will need to use a ride on lawn mower.
The first lawn mower was used invested in 1827 by a British engineer by the name of Edwin Beard. The idea for his invention came about when he saw a similar machine cutting nap from fabric and thought the same concept could be made to cut grass.
It was crude and big which is why this was only used to cut the lawn on sports grounds and gardens. It wasn’t until the 1860’s that lawn mowers were being manufactured and sold in the market. In 1870, the first ever human pushed lawn mower was invented.
Various improvements were made from then until after the First World War. The most significant happens to be the first riding lawn mower which was pulled by a large animal. Before the outbreak of World War 2, people began experimenting with petrol run lawn mowers and little has changed to this day.
There are safety and environmental issues with the use of lawnmowers. In 2001, a study shows that the lawn mower emits the same amount of pollution as a ca 1992 model car which has driven for about an hour or 650 miles. This is because little has changed with the motor used on these machines unlike cars which have had a massive improvement in terms of fuel efficiency.
Because lawn mowers run on fuel, they also contribute to air pollution. With the number of golf courses, football fields and tennis courts, it uses about 17 million gallons of fuel annually which is more than the oil that spilled in the Gulf of Alaska from the Exxon Valdez.
Then there is the safety issue with regards to the use of ride on lawn mowers. First, it could cause hearing loss especially to those who ride it without any type of hearing protection. Second, more than 80,000 people are brought to the hospital each year due to lawn mower related accidents.
Does that mean people should only use push based lawnmowers? The answer is no because this really depends on the situation. In cases when a ride on lawn mower has to be used, safety precautions and proper equipment can reduce the number of accidents.
As for air pollution, companies that manufacturer these machines have to make certain changes so can reduce emissions which are harmful to the environment.
One solution to help protect the environment is the robotic mower. These things are smaller and powered by batteries. You just have to guide the mower where it goes using a remote control similar to those used in toy cars or planes.
The lawn mower is a great machine. If this was not invented, people will still have to cut grass using a large pair of grass scissors.
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