Breaking up rock by hand in damp, dark tunnels was not a joyful experience for most laborers. In the 1800s, mining was downright treacherous and miserable work. Jackhammers were a godsend of sorts, particularly in the mining industry. In addition to the first motorized car, King created more than 60 different machines in his lifetime, including a range of pneumatic tools, among them, the jackhammer.
In March of 1896, King roared along the avenues at about, well, 7 miles (11 kilometers) per hour. Although Henry Ford is popularly credited with inventing the first automobile, it was actually Charles Brady King, an inventor and engineer, who created and drove the first motorized carriage. Their salvation came from the mind of a car man in Detroit. Keep reading and you'll see just how jackhammers came to be. And even though they perform a straightforward and brutal task, modern jackhammers are thoroughly evolved and refined machines with a long history. In spite of the challenges of using jackhammers, these tools really are necessary for all sorts of major projects.
Otherwise, you risk dropping the tool, which could damage the innards of the jackhammer. They tend to be unwieldy, with some weighing nearly 100 pounds (45 kilograms), meaning that safe operation requires a user with some muscle. That doesn't mean jackhammers are easy to use. By comparison, jackhammers (sometimes called pneumatic drills or demolition hammers) make quick work of even really hard surfaces like highways, patios and rock walls. We could always go back to the old way - using heavy-headed sledgehammers - but there probably aren't enough chiropractors in the world to keep construction workers' backs aligned. Without jackhammers, we humans would need new systems to rid our paths of old concrete or rock.