lawn

History was made last weekend when American Bobby Cleveland won back his record for the world's fastest lawn mower, restoring order to the natural world. Cleveland's former record of 80.833 mph was broken by British driver Don Wales, who swiped it right from under Cleveland's nose with a 87.833 mph record at the Pendine Sands in Wales last May.

But we Yankees practically invented the sport of riding lawn mowers, and if American men are ever going to be able to justify spending $2K on a new John Deere riding mower, the country needed that … Read more

It's hard to imagine a business smaller than the typical lawn service, except for lemonade stands. Though lawn service companies can be as large as their ambitions, most are just one or two young guys with a pickup truck and a trailer full of lawnmowers. If anyone needs a break to stay in business, it's them. Lawn Manager Pro from Lazy Bayou can provide some assistance in the form of business database software that helps the boys of summer stay on schedule and keep up with customers, billing, expenses, and those little things that so often escape attention … Read more

Sunday Lawn is the iPhone and iPod Touch adaptation of another successful 2D Flash game from developer Donut Games, in which you must mow a labyrinthine lawn as efficiently as possible while avoiding hazards like hedgehogs and "dog poop."

The simple but winning gameplay of the Flash-based Sunday Lawn has remained intact, but unfortunately, the controls are disappointing. To score well in this game, you need to mow long, contiguous sections of lawn without backtracking (while picking up occasional power-ups and avoiding both stationary and moving obstacles), and that requires quick, precise movements from your mower (a comically … Read more

Updated at 11:15 a.m. PST: This article was updated to include data and comments from Amy Townsend-Small.

A report asserting that well-maintained parks in the Irvine, Calif., area were technically polluting the environment has been amended and its official results have been re-released.

The study led by Amy Townsend-Small, an Earth system science postdoctoral researcher at the University of California at Irvine, originally reported last month that the amount of carbon emissions emitted from lawn-related maintenance was roughly four times the amount of carbon naturally collected and stored by the lawn itself.

But that is not true.

Due … Read more

Updated at 9:25 a.m. PST, February 18, 2010: The data from the original study regarding lawn carbon emissions versus carbon capture was found to be miscalculated. The study itself has since been amended, and this article has been corrected to reflect the new data.

While parks and lawns provide solace amidst urban and suburban sprawl, well-maintained grass is technically polluting to the environment, a study has shown.

While Nevada officials and residents have long espoused the benefits of desert landscaping in lieu of grass lawns, their focus has been on water conservation. This latest study from the University … Read more

If you don't think mowing the lawn is fun, you might like this new mower. The machine designed to get the job done for you just got better.

First introduced in 2007, LawnBott is a gas-free, robotic lawnmower that can be programmed to work completely by itself. This is similar to the automatic vacuum cleaner the Roomba.

Just as the Roomba can take care of multiple rooms, the LawnBott can be set to work on up to three different zones, such as your front lawn, side grass, and backyard. It can trim grass for three to five hours on … Read more

Los Angeles-based Lehr is introducing what it says is the world's first line of lawn and garden equipment that runs entirely on propane.

The idea is to replace toxic gasoline with the cleaner fuel. However, the new product lines' eco-friendliness is limited by the fact that the propane found in stores is still fossil-fuel based.

First out is Lehr's Eco Trimmer, which has just hit major retailers. It is a big machine weighing around 15 pounds, depending on shaft type. It retails for $199. Its propane canister has the same "Twist 'n Go" fueling that's … Read more

I know Wii remotes have already been used to control coil guns and extremely unsettling black widow spiders, but now you can actually have fun mowing the lawn.

A group of highly domesticated scientists at the University of Southern Denmark decided the world needed to be spared from the pain of shortening grass until the next unseasonal downpour. So they created a lawn mower controlled by a Wii remote.

They've called it Casmobot. And just when I thought this name might have an allusion to something vaguely Viking, I was disabused by the explanation that the "Casmo" part stands for Computer Assisted Slope Mowing.

The design is quite simple. The Wiimote is connected by a little Bluetooth to a computer and a bunch of robotics in the machine.

Depending on how much fun you want to have, you can either keep tilting your Wiimote to direct the mower or you can just guide it around the perimeter of an area and it will automatically cut all the grass inside.… Read more

If you've ever choked on a lung-full of exhaust from a lawn mower or motor boat, you might appreciate this product idea: a catalytic converter for small motors.

Filter company MemPro Ceramics has developed what it calls the NoxFox, a "catalytic filter" designed to neutralize air pollutants from lawn mower engines.

The company plans to produce the small devices--sized a few inches by a few inches--next year and is seeking to partner with small engine manufacturers, according to John M. Finley, CEO of MemPro Ceramics.

Lawn-care products and boats contribute significantly to air pollution. An hour of … Read more