I research the development of cement, the binder of concrete. Cement now accounts for more than 5% of human-made CO2 emissions globally. I investigate how cement factored into cultures across the United States due to its standardized material properties. Cement's relative impermeability affected what shoes Americans wore outside, how they incarcerated fellow citizens, and how they recreated and invested in a new domestic subterranean. I articulate why that matters for today's researchers and engineers who are designing and applying alternative cements. New materials will, no doubt, have different environmental and cultural impacts on multiple scales.