I recently did a few shows where I did the old balancing a lawnmower on the chin routine.
I’m not sure who was first to do this trick, but I do know of several people that have done it. As you can imagine having that much weight on the chin, with the vibrating of the engine, can be quite difficult!
The trick involves having an electric lawnmower started and balanced on the chin, then someone throws something into the spinning blades while the mower is balanced. I used to use lettuce, but in more recent years I’ve preferred to use a confetti bag. I’ve also seen toilet paper used.
There is just something awesome about seeing a running lawnmower balanced on someones chin.
Here is a video of me doing the trick at the 2017 Hub City Tattoo Expo. Link to their site at https://www.hubcitytattooexpo.com
Why an electric lawnmower?
When asked why use an electric mower the answer is actually quite simple. Gas mowers don’t have a fuel pump, at least in my experience. The gas is fed to the engine by gravity. The gas tank is simply higher than the engine so the fuel runs down into it.
However, as you can see from the video, when the mower is balanced it is upside down. This would cause the fuel to run out of the tank as the tank caps have air lock holes, and the mower engine would stop running because it would be deprived of gas.
These are things a juggler only learns through trial and error.
It’s fun to bring these older tricks back into the show from time to time. I’m thinking I’ll bring the sword ladder out of retirement soon. Perhaps for the outdoor show in March. My post about the outdoor show can be found at https://chainsawjuggling.com/atlantic-outdoor-show/