I Didn’t Know That. . .

Q: How do they make the patterns on the grass on baseball diamonds and other fields?

A: The process is called lawn striping and is actually quite easy. The key is a roller attached right behind the mower that bends the grass over. Checkerboard patterns are produced, for example, by first mowing in an alternating north-to-south, south-to-north pattern, then going over it again east to west and west to east. This alternates the way the grass bends. When you look at the ball field, the stripes of grass leaning away from you will look lighter because sunlight is reflecting off the whole blade. The grass leaning toward you will look darker because the sun is reflecting only off the tips of the blades.