Pet Rocks

Sometimes pop culture takes a turn so bizarre, so ridiculous, that you can’t help but admire it. Why can’t I think of something like this? Gary Dahl did and became a millionaire.

The pet came in a box with holes…of course, so the Rock could breathe and have a nest. They were $3.95 each, and each box contained “One Genuine Pedigreed” Pet Rock…A 32-page manual was included on how to take care of your special pet. The timing was perfect. In a post-Watergate America, cynicism was in, and irony was king. People were ready to buy something utterly meaningless just for the hell of it.

You want to understand the ‘70s in a nutshell? Forget disco and mood rings, look at the Pet Rock. It was the perfect gag gift in a world suddenly obsessed with kitsch, sarcasm, and pop irony.

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More than a million people bought Pet Rocks as Christmas gifts in 1975. Gary Dahl, of Los Gatos, California, had the idea while joking with friends about his easy-to-care-for pet, a rock.

This pet ate nothing and didn’t bark or chew the furniture. Pet Rocks were sold with a funny manual that included tips on how to handle an excited rock and how to teach it tricks. By 1976, Gary Dahl was a millionaire, and Pet Rocks were the nation’s favorite pet.

By 1977, the fad had already burned out. Sales dropped. The joke wore thin. The world moved on. But like most pop phenomena, the Pet Rock was never really about longevity. It was about the moment. And it absolutely nailed it. He later referred to the Pet Rock craze as “a good joke that got out of hand.”

Here is the first part of the manual. I will not list the 32 pages of care…at the bottom is a very short old news report on this novelty item. Kids today don’t know what they are missing…they have iPhones….we had Pet Rocks.

Item 1.
Your new rock is a very sensitive pet
and maybe slightly traumatized from
all the handling and shipping required
in bringing the two of you together.
While you may look in on your new
pet from time to time, it is essential
that you leave your rock in its box for
a few days. It is advised that you set
the box in an area of your home
that is to become your PET ROCK’S
“special place”. Some PET ROCK
owners have found that the ticking of
an alarm clock placed near the box
has a soothing effect; especially at
night.
It takes most PET ROCKS exactly
three days to acclimate themselves to
their new surroundings. After seventy-two
hours have passed you may remove
the rock from its box and begin
enjoying your new pet.

Yes, I do have a pet rock and the box somewhere in storage. 

 

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

48 thoughts on “Pet Rocks”

  1. Yep, one of the absolutely quintessential bits of ’70s cultural history! You might have a point with the Watergate effect, because it was also around then songs like ‘The Streak’ and ‘Convoy’ and ‘Kung fu Fighting’ were massive- more or less novelty songs. I never had a Pet Rock, sadly enough but I sure remember the trend. And it didn’t take me long even back then as a kid to think ‘man, anyone can be a millionaire if you have the right goofy idea!’ So far, I haven’t had the right goofy idea

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    1. Dave it was brilliant…a Mexican beach stone…free, some straw, and cardboard. He made quite a bit on each one…but it was FUN…and a conversation piece.

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  5. It’s not too late! You can still buy an original Pet Rock on eBay. Due to inflation, they now cost more than $3.95, even used. The Pet Rock was soon followed by the Chia Pet. My wife now eats chia seeds every morning.

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  8. I remember pet rocks but, never had one. I did have the Mexican jumping bean…until the worm inside died. Never did a chia pet. The next insanity was beanie babies. People genuinely thought they would get rich, holding on to those things.

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    2. You had the real Mexican jumping bean? I only had plastic ones with a little ball bearing inside. When you held it in your hand and moved a bit, the weighted bead would move from end to end and make the “bean” move.

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  9. Wow! Now this takes me back. I never bought one but we used to paint them when we would grab em from the lake shore. It was basically a cost saving move. lol

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  10. Oh my yes I recall those things. I never owned one myself. I remember my Dad saying something to the effect that he had cleared enough rocks as a kid on the family farm, had he known then how much they were worth!

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  12. What a snapshot of the silly 70s. I wonder how many people just cruelly dumped theirs by the side of the road when they became too much of a burden?

    ‘Pet Rock in need of a good home. Compact, still in original box. For Sale or free. One careful owner. No schist!’

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    1. LOL…stray rocks! I guess America needed something silly after what they went through…and what was coming (high inflation)…. Hey I have one! It is a conversation piece now…because unless you are of age…they surprise people.
      It’s so absurd to think about…but funny

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