Birthday of the Lawn Mower - May 18, 1831!!!

[Catty1]

Got this in my daily "Did You Know" email today. I had NO idea lawn mowers went back this far!

Did you know...

... that today is the birthday of the Lawn Mower? Edwin Budding built the first lawn mower. On May 18, 1831, the first ad appeared for that lawn mover. One of the first machines was used in Regent's Park Zoological Gardens in London.

Invented by a 'budding' genius...har har har...er, ahem, ok...

The only pic of Edwin and his machine I could find is attached...it's kinda big!



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Beard_Budding

Edwin Beard Budding (1795–1846), an engineer from Stroud, England, was the English inventor of the lawnmower (1830) and adjustable spanner.

Budding got the idea of the lawnmower after seeing a machine in a local cloth mill which used a cutting cylinder (or bladed reel) mounted on a bench to trim the irregular nap from the surface of woollen cloth and give a smooth finish.[1]

He realised that a similar device could be used to cut grass if the mechanism was mounted in a wheeled frame to make the blades rotate close to the lawn's surface. Budding went into partnership with a local engineer, John Ferrabee, and together they made mowers in a factory at Thrupp near Stroud.[2]

Examples of the early Budding type mowers can be seen in Stroud Museum, the London Science Museum and at Milton Keynes Museum.

Budding is also credited with the invention of the screw adjustable spanner.[3]

[lvpets2002]

WoW how so interesting.. I did not know how old the lawn mower was.. I have a Retro & a gas one..

[wombat2u2004]

Got this in my daily "Did You Know" email today. I had NO idea lawn mowers went back this far!

Yup, they were invented especially for women to use.
Strike one for the women.

[davidpizzica]

Just think, without him inventing the lawn mower, I wouldn't have become a golf course groundskeeper!!

[happylabs]

Does this mean I have to buy my lawn mower a birthday card?

[Bonny]

That is really interesting. I know when the mowers around here would get broken down & not fixed. I threatened to go to the sales barn & bring home some stinky old billy goats to mow the lawn.

[happylabs]

That is really interesting. I know when the mowers around here would get broken down & not fixed. I threatened to go to the sales barn & bring home some stinky old billy goats to mow the lawn.

I thought about doing that but then you have to clean up what comes out the other end.

[davidpizzica]

I thought about doing that but then you have to clean up what comes out the other end.

Just let it sink into the ground for fertilizer!