Test Your Knowledge of Lawns

1. Acres of lawn in the United States in 1990.

2. Number of American households with lawns.

3. Total dollars spent annually on lawn-care equipment and products in America.

4. Pounds of chemicals applied to American turf annually.

5. Number of grass plants in a 1,000-square-foot lawn.

6. Miles of grass roots under a 1,000-square-foot lawn.

7. Number of roots on a single grass plant.

8. Miles of roots on a single grass plant.

9. Year in which the word “lawn” first appeared in English.

10. Year in which Astro Turf was invented (a dark day in the history of grass).

Answers: 1. 30 million; 2. 53 million; 3. $5.4 million; 4. 70 million; 5. 850,000; 6. 300 million; 7. 13 million; 8. 300; 9. 1584; 10. 1965

Lawn Facts excerpted from “A Man’s Turf: The Perfect Lawn” (Clarkson Potter, 1999), by Warren Schultz.