pet rock

Pet rocks :

Hi Charlie,

Have you ever had strange ideas? I bet you have, and so did Gary Dahl, who, one day in 1975, thought that it was a good idea, as an April Fool's joke, to sell a rock as a pet.

I initially learned about this thanks to a friend, and I honestly did not believe it at first. However, after some research, I found out that they were right. So, what are pet rocks?

The pet rock was created by Gary Dahl, an advertising executive from Los Gatos, California. He came up with the idea in 1975 as a humorous way to joke about the hassle and responsibility of caring for traditional pets. These "creatures" did not need to be fed, walked, played with, or cleaned up after, making it an ideal "pet" for busy people, as they were actual rocks.

The product was sold by a company named "Rock Bottom Productions," created by Gary Dahl. In order to obtain one, you had to spend $3.95 and then wait to receive your newly found companion.

                              

 When you received your personal pet rock, it came in a cardboard box with breathing holes and straw bedding to imitate a pet carrier. It was accompanied by a manual on how to teach your beloved companion tricks and how to make it behave. You could teach your little companion how to "sit" and "stay still" with no effort, while you would have to give it a little initial push for tasks like "roll over" or "attack," where you would have to throw it in the direction of the designated target.

Even though the popularity of the pet rock only lasted for six months and ended around Christmas of 1975, it was enough for Gary Dahl to sell around 1.5 million of them, earning a total of almost $6 million.

In the end, the pet rock was more than just a practical joke or a novelty item. I still find it amusing that such a thing was able to exist.

I hope you enjoyed my article about this "stone-age Tamagotchi."

                                                          example of instructions you could find in your manual:

: A pet rock in it's natural environnement