How the Pet Rock Became a Massive Hit

Who would have ever thought that something you could find any time you walked out of your front door could have become a million-dollar bestseller. It wasn’t something like diamonds or gold. It was a typical, ordinary rock.

The year was 1975, and for only $3.95, you could buy the craze of the time–the Pet Rock–a plain, round rock that a person could find on the ground if they just looked for it. It was the brainchild of Gary Dahl, an advertising copywriter who initially considered it to be a joke. That was until he discovered it could become something more.

An Idea is Born

Dahl came up with the idea in a bar in Los Gatos, California. He was basically broke, and when the discussion in the bar turned to the chores involved with cleaning up the mess pets made, Dahl joked that he had a “pet rock” and didn’t have that problem. He even ran with the idea and developed a manual over a two-week period on how to care for and train his pet rock as well as how to make it do tricks.

Something triggered Dahl to develop his pet rock past just a gag. He got the assistance of two investors and bought smooth stones from a hardware store that were from Rosarito Beach, Mexico, on the Baja Peninsula. The rocks cost about a penny apiece. Now that Dahl had his stones, he needed packaging, and this was where a…