The invention of the leaf blower triggered legal action across the U.S.

Cordless leaf blower

The 1970s were an exciting time for suburbanites across the United States. Children plunged themselves into video games with the emergence of arcades and the first home consoles. Microwave ovens made reheating meals a snap. And homeowners could rid themselves of leaves accumulating in their yards sans the usual raking effort with the introduction of the handheld leaf blower.

During the water shortage that affected California in the latter half of the decade, the machines proved especially popular among Golden State residents who were encouraged to blow debris off their decks instead of hosing them down. But there were a few problems to be tackled with the peace-shattering leaf blower. The San Francisco Bay Area city of Carmel-by-the-Sea even enacted an ordinance in 1975 in which the leaf blower was “declared to be a public nuisance and unlawful.” Soon afterward, the upscale L.A. neighborhood of Beverly Hills also moved forward with a ban due to complaints over noise and dust stirred up by the gasoline-powered machines. By the late 1990s, 20 California cities and an additional 80 across the nation had ordinances that either banned or placed restrictions on the use of leaf blowers.

The pushback prompted manufacturers to develop “quieter” and more environmentally friendly machines, and today, consumers can choose from an array of electric options that release zero emissions and are less likely to put an entire neighborhood on edge. Yet the gas-guzzlers continue to have their proponents, particularly among lawn-care workers who lament the limited power of electric model batteries, ensuring that the fallout over the leaf blower will continue amid the enduring human need to produce the most picturesque yard.

By the Numbers

Did you know?

The inventor of the snow blower also pioneered medical innovations.

People in snowy climates had to make do with the backbreaking work of shoveling driveways and sidewalks until Boston-area teenager William P. Murphy Jr. devised the first personal snow blower around 1940. Murphy was able to sell his design to a lawnmower company for $1,500, but otherwise missed out on larger financial benefits when another lawnmower company, Toro, introduced the first commercially successful personal snow blower in 1952.

Fortunately, the Harvard graduate didn't let this missed opportunity set him back, as he went on to introduce such pioneering medical innovations as plastic blood transfusion bags, single-use procedural trays, and hollow fiber artificial kidneys. Murphy was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2008, his development of a handy tool to make snowy winters a little easier just one of his many contributions to humanity.