[PowerElectronix]

Engraved deep down in our primitive brain is the profound fear of high grass and forestry, which conceal bears, wolves, snakes, ticks and a lot of other dangers.

Thus, we have the natural inclination to raze it all and leave a very flat grass surface where no animal goes unnoticed.

This ends up translating into modern lawns a few hundreds of centuries later.

[kakacik]

No it isn't, maybe you feel that way, I don't and don't know anybody who does

[PowerElectronix]

You can track the human diaspora throughout the world by the times megafauna went extinct in a area and massive wildfires left the area devoid of trees.

[awesan]

this is obviously bs, the lawn thing is mostly a north-american obsession. most people here in europe like shade and thus higher vegetation in their gardens.

[jltsiren]

European upper class was obsessed with lawns first. Like other forms of decorative gardens, it was primarily a status symbol. The intended message was something like "Look how we can afford this land we don't actually need! And look how we can afford to pay others to make it aesthetically pleasing!"

But once there were public lawns in cities, people found practical uses for them. Many popular ball games are still played on surfaces that resemble a lawn.

That same distinction makes sense for private lawns. Do you have a decorative garden, because your lot is larger than what you actually need? Or is the lawn a practical surface for open spaces you occasionally use?

[th0raway]

If by European you mean mostly British, sure! And you can see how Anglosphere metro areas resemble each other a lot. But Europe is not one thing.

[jltsiren]

The English and the French had different ideas about proper uses of lawn. Both spread widely across Europe.

[gherkinnn]

The above comment is a prime example of pseudo-paleo rubbish confirming anything and predicting nothing. Popper would have a field day.

[goosejuice]

Forgetting that part where the lawn was born in Europe.

[awesan]

OK, but that doesn't mean the comment I replied to is any less BS. What I pointed out is that if there was such a deep preference for short grass, you'd expect this globally. And this is simply not the case, empirically.