Thomas Choi
Honr159j
Project1
The Lawn Sprinkler as a Suburban Artifact
Introduction
The "iron rule of lawns", according to Sara Lowen in
American Heritage, September 1991, states that Short, green grass is the only
normal, respectable thing to have in your front yard (American 45).
As a result of this belief, millions of good, lawful citizens of American
suburbia have dutifully purchased various lawn care equipment such as
thelawn mower(Raj
Narayanan) and the sprinkler system. In recent years, lawn mowing has
generally become a commercial operation, with numerous local landscape
companies offering their services. However, lawn sprinkler systems have
remained a personal and prominent member of the family. The inherent
nature of periodic sprinkling has prompted suburbanites to retain its
activity throughout history. Its evolutionary existence has
distinguished the sprinkler system as an artifact of suburban culture.
In many instances, its development as a suburban device reflects the
corresponding sociological trends in suburban mentality.