Plenty of people come up with random business ideas while knocking back a few drinks with pals, but most of the time those plans don’t end up turning into millions of dollars. Gary Dahl, however, was not plenty of people…and the Pet Rock wasn’t just any business idea.
It was 1975 when Dahl, a California-based advertising exec, was drinking at a bar with his friends. At some point, Dahl mentioned that he thought most pets were too much trouble. Dogs, cats, birds and even fish…as far as Dahl was concerned, animals were expensive, messy and loud. That’s why he had a pet rock, he joked: It was cheap, easy to care for, and had a pleasant personality.
Dahl’s drinking buddies got a kick out of the idea, so the ad man spent the next couple of weeks writing and illustrating the Pet Rock Training Manual, which described how to train and take care of a pet rock:
“Your PET ROCK will be a devoted friend and companion for many years to come,” the booklet stated, per ABC News. “Rocks enjoy a rather long life span so the two of you will never have to part — at least not on your PET ROCK’s account. Once you have transcended the awkward training stage your rock will mature into a faithful, obedient, loving pet with but one purpose in life — to be at your side when you want it to, and to go lie down when you don’t.”
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Dahl went to a builder’s supply store and bought a Rosarita Beach Stone for a penny, and packed it in excelsior in a box that looked like a pet carrying case, complete with air holes. Instead of trying to drum up interest from the highly competitive toy industry, Dahl introduced the Pet Rock at the August gift show in San Francisco with a goal of making at least one dollar in profit for every rock he sold.
The strategy worked: Neiman-Marcus ordered 500 Pet Rocks. Soon after that, Newsweek ran a story about the novelty item. By the end of October, Dahl found himself shipping ten thousand Pet Rocks every day, according to the Encyclopedia of POP Culture by Jane and Michael Stern. He was even invited on The Tonight Show twice. Unsurprisingly, the Pet Rock was one of the bestselling novelty items that holiday season, and within a few months, Dahl sold a million rocks for $3.95 apiece.
Of course, as is the case with most fads, the Pet Rock wasn’t a must-have item for very long. But Dahl made enough money to quit his advertising job. Reflecting on his success in an interview with the Oakland Tribune, Dahl said, “I packaged a sense of humor for a very bored public.”
Dahl started his own novelty company, Rock Bottom Productions, but his follow-up ideas didn’t really take off, according to Mental Floss. Among them: the Official Sand Breeding Kit for “growing sand” and Canned Earthquake, a coffee can with a wind-up mechanism that made it jump around on a table. Dahl went on to buy and renovate a bar, though he eventually went back to advertising.
Related: In 1975, Stevie Wonder Almost Quit the Music Industry. The Album He Made Instead Was Just Ranked the Best of 1976
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