The increase in life expectancy during the 20th century is largely due to improvements in child survival; this increase is associated with reductions in infectious disease mortality, due largely to immunization.1 However, infectious diseases remain a major cause of illness, disability, and death.
The First Mowers. The lawn mower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding, an engineer from Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. He obtained the idea after seeing a machine in a local cloth mill which used a cutting cylinder (or bladed reel) mounted on a bench to trim cloth to make a smooth finish after weaving.
1953: Briggs & Stratton creates the lightweight aluminum engine for mowers. By 1957 it accounts for 80 percent of engines the company ships in the U.S. 1982: Explicit lawnmower safety standards are implementedâand an ominous label is born. 1987: The lawnmower takes a star turn in Can't Buy Me Love: Nerdy Ronald woos popular Cindy, and the pair head into the sunset on his Snapper riding mower. 2000: Two companies debut robotic mowers.