#17: The First Lawnmower Required Two People to Operate
Before the 1930s, people relied on scythe-wielding specialists for grass-cutting. In 1830, Edwin Beard Budding changed the game in Gloucestershire, England, by inventing and patenting the world’s first mechanical lawn mower. His lightbulb moment came from observing a cloth mill’s smooth-cloth-cutting cylinder mechanism.
What’s fascinating is that Budding’s early design had a two-person job: one pushing and the other pulling. Thankfully, today’s mowers have evolved for single-operator ease. Who knew lawnmowers had such an interesting history?