Home improvements

The newly opened Harris County Dome (aka the Astrodome) undergoes a $20,000 paint job on its ceiling 59 years ago today – a necessity because the glare of the sunlight coming through the top of the dome makes catching fly balls an iffy proposition, at best, during day games.

Of course, sealing off the sunlight causes the grass on the field to die, and that predicament leads to the introduction of Astro Turf in 1966.