Crappy Snow Shovels

I was walking across East 4th Street — oh, about nine days ago — when I saw this discarded snow shovel:

Discarded snow shovel.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

The funny thing is, I had just been thinking about this type of snow shovel — the curvy type — and how bad they are.

The idea is that the snow will roll forward as you push and you won't have to lift it. The problem is that the force you are applying down the handle while pushing does not stop where the handle joins the scooper — it continues along the same path.

A softer plastic scooper would absorb a lot of that energy, but a softer plastic would bend, reducing the effectiveness of the shovel and increasing the chance that the break occurs in the scooper itself. To avoid this, a higher-impact plastic is used, increasing the stress at the connection point.

Add to that the fact that no one pushes straight along the handle line, that everyone pushes downward somewhat, and the chance of breaking at this point is virtually assured.

So what is the solution? Only buy plastic shovels for the beach, and never buy curvy snow shovels, of any material!

Finally, always check with East Village Today before making any light-maintenance tool purchases!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #energy #snow #snowshovel