The butterfly effect is the idea that some very small choices can have gigantic consequences, and in the world of landscaping, by far the biggest example of this is how artificial turf and the all-season opportunities it provides came about thanks to one terrible design choice.
The original ChemGrass was designed by Robert Wright and James Faria of Monsanto in 1964, but just two years later it would have its name changed by its involvement in one of the biggest, most advanced stadiums and a catastrophe caused by one bad decision.
The Astrodome in Houston, Texas was the first air-conditioned domed stadium ever made, meant to do the unthinkable and bring the sport of baseball to an environment that was seen as largely inhospitable for it, given the infamous humidity of Houston.
It was exceptionally modern, space age and very popular in its day, but it did not take long for small issues to cause a domino effect.
The Houston Astros were the Major League Baseball team that called the Astrodome home from its opening in 1965 until 1999 when they moved to the rather unfortunately named Enron Field.
The Astrodome was an attraction, with an entire grass baseball field in a dome wowing audiences. However, it could only grow thanks to an array of roof panels that provided light to the field.
The problem with the panels is that on certain sunny days, they caused glare, which caused players to struggle with relatively basic catches.
The solution was to paint over them so they still looked good but the light was reflected away.
The problem with that is that it caused the grass to die, leading to an embarrassing part of the MLB season where the dirt was painted green.
ChemGrass became the solution, renamed AstroTurf, with the infield installed before the start of the season in March 1966, whilst the rest was completed by 19th July.
This not only changed sports, enabling the kind of all-weather pitches that Football League teams would use but also changed landscaping, as you could have a beautiful lawn anywhere in the world.