In this space we try to concentrate on the practical, the evidence-based, the scientific.

But today in the Wall Street Journal, columnist Kris Frieswick swings for the fences. Here’s a sample:

Leaf blowers evolved from farm equipment and burst into popular usage in the late 1970s. I was a child in the pre-leaf-blower 1970s. I don’t remember there being an annual, autumn crisis in which layers upon layers of fallen leaves covered every single square inch of suburban America, halting all commerce and transport, because there was NO POSSIBLE WAY to get rid of them.
That’s because we had rakes!
We used the rakes to gather all those leaves up and put them in bags to take to the dump. Or we burned them. It took hours. It got us out of the house (parental bonus). It exhausted us and we didn’t bicker or squabble and fell asleep promptly after dinner. Plus raking leaves was fun, mostly. We created enormous mounds of leaves. We jumped in them…
But, today… we certainly can’t ask hardworking parents to spend a few hours outdoors on lawn maintenance when there are weekend century bike rides and golf outings and tennis and spa days and an endless litany of children’s team sporting events to attend both far and wide. Clearly, leaf blowers are the only possible way to deal effectively with fallen leaves.

You can (and should) read the whole thing here.