For example, a 6-by-8-foot pine fence with 1-by-6-inch pickets weighs about 130 pounds, totaling just 48 square feet, while a 50-foot roll of a 3.5-foot-tall chain-link fence weighs a similar 125 ...

Getty Images Blame the Cold War for doing in the picket fence. Whether seeking security, embracing new technology or dodging a tedious paint job, many ’50s-era suburbanites chain-linked their lots.