What Exactly Is Astro Turf?
Astro turf is defined as "an artificial surface used instead of grass on many football fields." Two employees of the company Monsanto by the names of James M. Faria and Robert T. Wright created it in the year 1965. It was first patented under the name "chemgrass" two years later. The driving force behind the creation of astro turf was it was needed at the Houston Astrodome Baseball Stadium because the stadium's natural lawn had fallen into disrepair and something needed to be found to replace it quickly. On April 21, 1966 the Daily Telegraph wrote, "Houston has spent $11 million building its mammoth, air-conditioned Astrodome Now [they are] spending $180,000 on a carpet of synthetic turf, called Astroturf."
This material has many advantages over grass. In fact it was tested extensively and refined over the years in regards to foot traction and cushioning, wear resistance, flammability and weather drainage. It requires very little maintenance. Once you put it down it doesn't require mowing or watering and it doesn't grow weeds or attract bugs because it is artificial. Due to the fact that it does not need sunlight it is perfect to use for stadiums that are indoors.
However there are disadvantages to it as well. An astro turf surface is much harder and rougher than that of grassy terrain therefore falling onto it causes more pain to the human body, not to mention potential injuries. Individuals who play sports on the artificial surface compare the impact of it to that of crashing onto concrete. It was Vince Lombardi who described it as "fuzzy cement." During a game of baseball the ball has a tendency to bounce not just higher in the air but at a much swifter pace, which is not always a good thing. As well an injury referred to as "turf toe" can result from playing on astro turf. Both grass and dirt allow for more leeway on the part of the players when they trip and/or fall onto the ground but with an artificial surface there is no such give. Sometimes the cleats of players' shoes get caught in the roughness of this turf and cause this condition.
Astro turf can be found not only on sports field but also on front and back doorstops of houses and on many patios and balconies. Unlike grass which absorbs water, when it rains the artificial surface dries fairly quickly making it safe and not dangerous to walk on. Astro turf is on occasion used generically to describe any and all types of turf that are artificial.