George C Ballas Sr

Ballas got the idea for the Weed Eater, a device also commonly known as a weed whacker, while sitting in a car wash. He wondered whether the idea of spinning bristles, like the ones cleaning his car, could be applied to trimming grass and weeds in areas a lawnmower couldn't reach. He experimented with fishing wire that poked through holes in a tin can attached to the rotary of a lawn edger, and found that the spinning wires easily sliced through grass, The Houston Chronicle reported. Ballas founded his Weed Eater company in Houston in 1971 and sales flourished during the subsequent decade. He later sold his invention to Emerson Electric. As part of his agreement with Emerson, Ballas was not allowed to disclose how much he was paid, even to his family.