In April 1975, an American Gary Dahl told his friends that he had the perfect pet. It required no maintenance, was cheap and always obedient. Dahl was referring to his pet rock! He meant it as a joke, but his advertising colleagues jumped on the idea. As if to prove the fact that Americans would buy anything if it was marketed cleverly, pet rocks became a fad!
Dahl wrote The Pet Training Manual in two weeks. It guided owners on how to house – train and build a rapport with their rocks. They could teach the rock tricks such as how to play dead and roll over.
Dahl then created a pet rock to go with the manual. He bought a Rosarita Beach Stone, a round gray pebble that was the most expensive one in the builders’ supply store. He packed it in soft wood shavings inside a decorative pet carrying case and added the manual. Amazingly, more than 5 million Pet Rocks were sold all over the U.S. at $3.95 apiece. Originally, the Pet Rocks were plain, but Dahl added to the line, creating rocks with faces painted on them, birth certificates and even several pebbles sold together as a family.
Before the fad petered out, Dahl became an overnight millionaire and celebrity, appearing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Picture Credit : Google