The leaf blower was invented by Dom Quinto in the late 1950s. It was originally introduced to the United States
as part of an agricultural chemical sprayer. Shortly thereafter manufacturers
discovered that many consumers were removing the chemical dispensing parts from
the device, leaving only the blower behind.
Manufacturers
then saw the potential of their invention as a common lawn and garden maintenance
tool. Drought conditions in California facilitated acceptance of the leaf
blower as the use of water for many garden clean-up tasks was prohibited. By
1990, annual sales were over 800,000 in the U.S., and the tool had become a ubiquitous
gardening implement.
Other functions beyond the
simple use of garden maintenance have been demonstrated by Richard Hammond on
the Brainiac television series, in which a man sized hovercraft was constructed
from a leaf blower. Being both portable and able to generate wind speeds of
between 140–270 miles per hour (63–121 m/s) and air volumes of 14 m3 per minute,
the leaf blower has many potential uses in amateur construction projects.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
