Every so often it does a bit of good to put up a lighthearted post. Today, we’re going to talk about some of the fun facts about lawns, lawn mowers, and the folks that love having a nice lawn. So use these facts for a bit of a laugh, or as facts to impress your friends, or who knows, maybe they’ll even come in handy next time you’re on Jeopardy.
1. The first lawn mower was invented by and Englishman, Edwin Beard Budding. Patented in 1830, Budding got the original idea from watching a cutting cylinder at a local cloth mill. While patented, it took almost 10 more years for an effective machine to be put into action.
2. The average American spends, on average, 4 hours per week taking care of their lawn. That adds up to an average of 208 hours per year, or over 8 days. All the better of a reason to find more efficient ways to take care of your lawn –
3. Powered lawn mowers cause 68,000 injuries every year – probably the least fun of the fun facts, but an important one to remember any time you’re around a lawn mower.
4. In the United States, homeowners spend roughly $30 billion dollars per year on their lawns. So trying to save money on lawn care is a big deal – look for a post on the most common money mistakes you’re making in your lawn later this week.
5. One out of every five homeowners rely on a lawn care professional to take care of their lawn care and landscaping needs.
6. The amount of pollution emitted by the average lawn when run for an hour is equal to that of a car being driven for roughly 200 miles. For the environmentally concerned, or just plain lazy, that’s a great reason to mow your lawn a little less often.
7. Of the roughly 50 million acres of grass in the United States, roughly 21 million of those acres are private lawns.
8. Over 80 million pounds of pesticides are applied to grass in the United States per year, so maybe try and go a little lighter next time you plan on spraying your lawn.
9. Lawns are great at producing oxygen. A 50-foot by 50-foot lawn can release enough oxygen throughout the day for the needs of one person. Given the length of their growing season, this makes grass great for maintaining balance in the ecosystems.
10. There’s even a museum dedicate to the lawn mower, the British Lawnmower Museum, in Merseyside, Great Britain.
