The Surprisingly Complex History of Lawn Mowers

Lawns were once maintained by grazing animals like sheep. The invention of the mechanical lawn mower in 1830 originally served to cut carpets before it was repurposed for gardens.

Before mechanical cutters existed, homeowners relied on flocks of sheep to keep their grass short. Edwin Budding changed everything when he adapted a machine used for trimming the nap off fabric into a tool for cutting grass. His invention democratized the perfectly manicured lawn, which was previously a luxury only the wealthy could afford. Today, these devices have evolved from simple hand-pushed rollers into autonomous robots that navigate your yard on their own.