Home Depot has perhaps sold more lawn mowers than any other outlet in the US. With a Home Depot Money Off Coupon from We Are Coupons you can save money on the perfect machine for your needs. Lawn mowers have a long history and it makes interesting reading.
Early Lawn Mowers
Edwin Budding of Gloucestershire, England is credited with inventing the first mechanical mowing machine in 1830. While working in a textile mill, Budding noticed a machine that was used to cut velvet and velvet had properties very similar to grass.
Budding then worked to design the first reel mower with a series of blades arranged in a cylinder, with a push handle. Budding's mower was 19" wide and constructed of wrought iron, a heavy beast but it cut grass well.
The first reel mower to receive commercial, widespread success in the United States was created in 1870 by Elwood McGuire of Richmond, Indiana. McGuire's model was a more lightweight than its British predecessor easier to push mower with fewer moving parts. The mower was an instant hit in the United States and beyond. By 1885, America was manufacturing over 50,000 lawn mowers each year and providing them to every country.
Gas Powered Lawn Mowers
Despite the widespread success of McGuire's reel mower, consumers still viewed mowing the lawn as an inconvenient, time consuming hassle. Because of this, they wanted a non-man powered mower. The solution came in 1902 when English engineering company, Ransomes, Sims & Jeffries introduced the first internal combustion gasoline powered engine.
Finally, in 1919 Colonel Edwin George made it possible for gas powered mowers to be manufactured in the United States. However, due to the financial depression and the Second World War, gas powered mowers didn't receive mainstream success until much later. In the United States, most of the lower/middle class still viewed maintaining a well-kept lawn an impractical luxury, primarily for the upper class. A beautiful lawn was considered a status symbol; rather than a standard.
Gas Powered Lawnmowers Become Popular
Throughout the 1930s and into World War II, lawn care and maintenance finally became the standard in the United States, causing more people to care for their lawns. Although, gasoline powered mowers didn't receive mainstream success until 1945. Once American soldiers returned home from war, and resumed their household tasks, they decided they didn't want to waste their time and energy on an old push mower.
