As the story goes, in April, 1975 California-based advertising executive Gary Dhal was out having drinks with a few friends when the topic of conversation turned to pets. Dahl told his pals that pets were troublesome, dirty and expensive. His chosen best buddy was a pet rock – much less trouble and a lot less mess. The friends began riffing on this idea, tossing jokes around. Dahl, however, took the matter somewhat more seriously and a business plan quickly formed in his head.

Pet Rock (1975) - Thank goodness a soft nest was provided to keep your loving Rock from harm!

Dhal set to work writing ‘The Care and Training of your Pet Rock’ manual (“How to make your Pet Rock roll-over and play dead”), finding a cheap source of quality rocks (inexpensive, yet attractive stones from Rosarita Beach in Baja, Mexico) and creating an attention-grabbing press release.

Dhal first presented his Rocks at the Gift Show in San Francisco in August ’75. After Neiman-Marcus ordered a batch and Newsweek ran a story – the Pet Rock exploded in popularity, becoming a must-have item and genuine fad. Retailing at $3.95, the Pet Rock quickly turned Dhal into a multi-millionaire.

Gary Dhal rings up another sale circa 1975. Rock on!

The Pet Rock phenomenon lasted a scant six months and after a sales surge over Christmas ’75 quickly died out. Perhaps the Pet Rock’s longest-lasting legacy is its inspirational pull on inventors looking to create the Next Big Thing.

More Pet Rock info than you can shake a stick at:
They Always Come Back, Pet Rock Page, PetsDo.com, Pet Rock Wiki