Rural-first diffusion

[Zmapper]

I'm looking for products can you think of that were used or consumed first by rural residents, and diffused to urban residents.

Examples I can think of:

• Satellite TV: Rural residents has the space needed for the large dish.
• Automobiles: After first being used by the wealthy, rural residents were the next group (in the early 20th century) to by cars; urban residents were more likely to lack the space to park and/or have reliable alternative modes.

Are there any examples of items consumed in the short term, such as certain foods?

[Brandon]

I'm looking for products can you think of that were used or consumed first by rural residents, and diffused to urban residents.

Examples I can think of:

• Satellite TV: Rural residents has the space needed for the large dish.
• Automobiles: After first being used by the wealthy, rural residents were the next group (in the early 20th century) to by cars; urban residents were more likely to lack the space to park and/or have reliable alternative modes.

Are there any examples of items consumed in the short term, such as certain foods?

Not always in the case of automobiles.  In many respects, urban dwellers were the first, before the rural folks in some areas.  One of these was where they were built, Detroit.  Detroiters drove and had automobiles very early, and quite a few of them as well.  This is borne out in the many firsts that occurred there (concrete pavement, centerlines, traffic signals, stop signs, etc) in the automobile era.  Many things Californians think are theirs regarding car culture really occurred in Detroit first.

[SP Cook]

RE:  Satellite TV.  Before satellite TV there was cable TV, also a product that rural people used first.  The earliest version was CATV (community antenna TV) because many people lived (and still live) outside the range of getting TV over-the-air.  They paid an often unscrupulous company for the use of their strategically placed large antenna, while city and suburban dwellers got "all" the channels free.  The practices of these outfits led to dis-satisfaction and the early adoption by rural people of satellite TV.  More that than the availability of space for a dish, IMHO.

While not exactly a "product" the entire process of "sending away" for products (Sears catalog) was something rural folks had to do, while city people had access to stores.  Today the Sears catalog's modern equalivent  (amazon.com) is probably more urban than rural.