Strange But True
The Pet Rock: How a Bar Joke Sold Over a Million Rocks
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In April 1975, advertising executive Gary Dahl listened to friends complain about their pets and joked that the perfect pet would be a rock: no feeding, no walking, no mess. A few months later, people were buying it.
A rock in a box
Dahl sold smooth stones in a carrier styled like a pet carrier, with a manual called The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock. Mental Floss reports the stones were beach stones bought in bulk for less than a cent each, and that they retailed for $3.95. It also makes the case that the packaging, not the stone, was the real product.
How big did it get?
The Strong National Museum of Play says more than a million Pet Rocks sold by Christmas 1975. CBC Archives reports about 10,000 a day at the peak, and that Dahl later estimated roughly 1.5 million sold in total. With about 95 cents of profit per rock, according to Mental Floss, Dahl became a millionaire. Estimates of the total vary by source.
The fad ends
By February 1976 the rocks were being discounted. Dahl tried a Bicentennial edition, but the craze had passed. He died in 2015.
Why it still matters for gifts
The Pet Rock is the original white elephant gift: a joke object whose value is the reaction it gets. If you want a modern version, see our white elephant gifts under $25.