The lawn con: A history of grass

Forever Ago

Lemonada Media

History, Kids & Family, Education For Kids

4.4 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 October 2022

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Grab your hedge clippers and don’t forget to feed your plastic flamingos! Joy and cohost Max are exploring the surprising history—and even more surprising legacy—of the American lawn. The clean, green front lawn has been synonymous with the American Dream for decades, but…why do we like lawns so much? A green-year-round carpet of grass takes a lot of water and other resources to maintain, and can pollute local ecosystems. How can we get the pleasant sanctuary of a traditional lawn without harming the environment? Joy and Max climb a massive hill and find some donkeys, and lawnfluencer superstar Ry-Ry the Lawn Guy experiences a revelation. We hear from local wildlife, and environmental conservationist and tall-grass enthusiast Neil Diboll encourages us to let our lawn’s wild side come out to play. Naturally, the biggest question is: Will Joy construct the perfect topiary self-portrait? Once you’ve gotten the grass stains out of your pants, see if you can put this First Things First in the correct order: Plastic lawn flamingoes, the gas-powered lawnmower, and AstroTurf. Also--what summer shoe is one of the oldest styles of footwear in the whole world? Didja Know has the deets! This episode was sponsored by: Fabric Insurance (Meetfabric.com/forever - Apply today in just 10 minutes at meet fabric dot com slash forever. Policies issued by Western-Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions.) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, it's Molly from BrainsOn and Smash Boom Best with an important request for the curious
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0:48.4	Oh hey Max, you're just in time. Hey Joy, is everything okay? I just saw you texted
0:54.9	get here now and I thought it was an emergency. It is an emergency. You see that big grassy hill over
1:00.9	there? Oh, do you mean grass Everest? Isn't that where a bunch of mountain climbers and a pack of
1:06.7	donkeys got lost a couple weeks ago? Yeah, which is weird because it's literally just to hill in
1:11.7	the middle of a park. Today, we're gonna climb it. Are you sure we can make it to the top? I mean,
1:19.5	it's pretty steep. I believe in us. We got to get going. I want to make sure we make it back in time
1:25.6	for my buttersculting class this afternoon. Okay, let's go. Come on Max, you can do it.
1:35.2	I'm trying. This grass so dry my shoes can't get a grip. That's because it's been a dry summer.
1:42.4	Just keep going. Whoa! The wind blowing so hard. My eyes are full of dust. We must be 15. No,
1:54.7	20 feet in the air. Here, give me a hand. I can't go on. Leave without me. I'll never leave you Max.
2:04.1	You are my coast. We will get to the top. Wrap this rope around your waist so we can stay together.
2:10.8	There will sing songs of our heroism. We will be a part of history. We're almost there. Just a few more steps.
2:20.2	Take my hand. We did it. I can't believe it.
2:30.8	Oh, air five. Grass five. It is so beautiful up here. I can see so much. Let the spot where we started.
	...

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