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Giant Lawn Machinery Everywhere: This Actually Is a Thing

Industrialization increases productivity. Sort of.

  • James Fallows
  • August 18, 2013
(James Fallows)

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Scenes from just the past few days. The fascinating aspect in each case was that the plot of land under maintenance was so small or narrow that the drivers’ main challenge was doing three-point turns to maneuver a giant mower around. No larger theme here, but it is the kind of thing you start noticing on the road. We’ll develop a separate section of the American Futures site for similar leitmotifs.

James Fallows

The total greensward in the shot below was at most about 18′ x 18′, in front of a outdoor-seating restaurant at noon. The driver appeared to be a teenager on a summer job, and he seemed to be having a good time zooming the thing around, revving the motor, and doing semi-wheelies in front of the diners. No doubt I would have loved doing this as a teenager in similar circumstances.

James Fallows

As previously noted, below at a motel. This is in a different place from the shot above, but it looks like the same kind of a machine. I never give investment tips, but this might be a trend worth watching.

MowerMan.png
James Fallows
Next up today: a report from Holland, Michigan on what happens to your cans, your bottles, your scrap paper, your cardboard, and whatever else you put in the recycling bin once you saw goodbye to it. Plus what happens to your cars after they die.
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