Maud Monday #28 / Rock Facts #2

http://ncmares.deviantart.com/art/Maud-n-Boulder-668894254

Hey guys! Today, we're gonna be talking about the history of pet rocks (such as Boulder)!

In 1975, a copywriter named Gary Dahl overheard his friends complaining about their own pets, and this gave him the idea to market a certain kind of pet. Thus, the pet rock—or rather, Pet Rock—was conceived.

Gary Dahl selling the Pet Rock in 1975.

The idea behind this pet was that it would require the least amount of care of any kind of pet. Rocks don't have diets, they don't even eat, they don't need to be walked, they don't need to be groomed, they don't (necessarily) need to be washed—they don't even need to be trained to do anything. A pet rock would be the perfect pet for anyone who wanted a pet but didn't want to go through the trouble of, well, doing anything for it. A rock would just sit there and do nothing, and that to some would be a perfect miniature companion.

Dahl took this idea perhaps a bit too seriously, as he actually was able to sell around 1.5 million Pet Rocks each for $4 before being discounted the next year due to the fad dying out. Each Pet Rock came with a manual titled The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock, containing a plenitude of jokes and gags. Some notable commands available to be used for the pet were "sit," "stay," "roll over," and "destroy Mrs. Montgomery's window and hope to God we won't be paying insurance." The money Dahl raised from selling these Pet Rocks went to him designing and building the Carry Nations bar in Los Gatos, CA.

The appeal and humor of the Pet Rock was how marketable this easily obtainable object was. To put it simply... it's a f&%king rock. Although the humor of the idea of having an inanimate, featureless object for a pet must have been what made it so popular in the first place. As Dahl himself said to People magazine in 1975: "People are so damn bored, tired of all their problems. This takes them on a fantasy trip—you might say we've packaged a sense of humor."

Unfortunately, it wasn't a happy aftermath for Dahl. According to The New York Times, despite the trademark he put on Pet Rocks, many people and businesses were still able to sell their own easy-to-obtain pet rocks, such as the Bicentennial Pet Rock. His original investors sued him for claiming that the profits were shared too little with them.

Other products Dahl came up with included the Sand Breeding Kit, but nothing compared to the success of the Pet Rock. People came to him constantly asking for him to continue marketing ridiculous items like the Pet Rock. He once stated to Associated Press in 1988, "Sometimes I look back and wonder if my life wouldn't have been simpler if I hadn't [come up with the Pet Rock]." Dahl passed away on March 23, 2015.

While surely the history of the Pet Rock has brought its troubles and backlash to Dahl, especially at how successful this ridiculous marketing scheme was, the legacy of said item will perhaps never fade. Sure, people tend to not have pet rocks these days, but we won't forget at the very least that it once was a delighting, physically harmless fad. And who knows? Perhaps one day, a fad similar to the Pet Rock will arise once again. Perhaps... you can even catch your own pet rock right now.

So thank you, Gary Dahl. Even if you are forgotten, your economically controversial creation will remain in our memories for quite a long time. Long live the Pet Rock!

I hope you all enjoyed my little history lesson about the pet rock. Tell me what you think about it in the comments below and if you're considering getting a pet rock of your own after reading this!