“That’s Hilarious”: Man Returns Home, Has No Idea Where His Entire Lawn Went

“Accidents happen” is an important truism to accept in life, but it doesn't take away from the confusion, pain, and sometimes hilarity that ensues when we mess up. Even more so when the mix-up creates scenarios that almost never happen in the normal course of a day. For example, imagine coming home and seeing that your front lawn is simply… gone.

One netizen shared a tale about the time they hired day laborers to remove a grass lawn that was going to be replaced with artificial turf. Instead, they got the houses mixed up and simply removed the neighbor's lawn and karted it off to who knows where.

For those who live in places where grass can naturally survive, first and foremost, congratulations. You might be wondering what exactly is artificial turf and why it’s required in some areas. It originated as a solution for sports fields, particularly for indoor stadiums. Entire sports industries exist only because there is a solution for places where grass isn’t consistent or inclement weather might cause issues. In Canada, for example, almost all of the nation's soccer fields use artificial turf, without which the operating costs for most stadiums might be too high.

It also finds some niche use in some airports, where it can act as a solid contrast to runways while also being cheaper than maintaining real grass. Well-made, modern artificial turf drains well and even allows for fiber optic cables to be “integrated” into it. This allows for variable lights which are pretty important tools in an airport. Similarly, artificial turf doesn’t allow wildlife to live in it, keeping critters away from runways and making ground crews' lives easier.

Outside of professional sports and airports, artificial turf can be found all over the southwest of the United States, where dryness and heat make it hard to maintain a “regular” grass lawn. While it is, technically, possible to just provide all the water needed to have a “traditional” lawn in the desert, most people, including OP, sensibly see this as an unnecessary luxury. Some also prefer it as it’s very low maintenance, maintains its colors year-round, and doesn’t need any additional work.

While, ultimately, OP did mess up, he really should have ensured that the day laborers knew exactly what to do. He also stated that he paid them upfront which is very rarely a good idea. For those who are unfamiliar, these sorts of day-laborers congregate around places where they might find employment for construction and gardening work. In OP’s story, it was a Home Depot, which is a classic example.

While considerably cheaper than a proper contractor, people can easily run into the same issue as OP, where work is not done correctly and they have no way to demand their money back. This goes both ways as well, as a significant risk of being a day laborer is wage-theft and injury, as someone interested in the cheapest workforce is unlikely to maintain rigorous safety standards.

Of course, most of this could have been avoided if OP hadn’t paid upfront or even supervised their work for a few minutes. We live and we learn, as the saying goes. At the very least, OP will be able to observe their neighbors' reaction to coming home and seeing the entire surface of their lawn simply gone.