Pet Rock is a collectible toy made in 1975 by advertising executive Gary Dahl. They were rocks packaged in custom cardboard boxes[1] complete with ventilation holes and straw bedding imitating a pet carrier.[2] The fad lasted about six months, ending after a short increase in sales during the Christmas season of December 1975. Although by February 1976 they were discounted due to lower sales, Dahl sold over one million Pet Rocks for $4 each,[1] and became a millionaire.[3][4][5]
History
Gary Dahl came up with the idea in a bar while listening to his friends complain about their pets; this gave him the idea for the perfect "pet": a rock.[2] A rock would not need to be fed, walked, bathed, or groomed, and it would not die, become sick, or be disobedient. Dahl said that they were to be the perfect pets and joked about it with his friends before eventually producing Pet Rocks as toys in 1975.[6]
In 2022, the toy company Super Impulse purchased the rights to the Pet Rock, reviving the brand.[7] In the 2020s, Pet Rocks grew in popularity in South Korea as tools for meditation or venting out frustrations. Members of K-pop groups such as Seventeen and Enhypen are noted to post about their Pet Rocks online.[8]
Cultural impact and legacy
The Pet Rock has had a lasting impact on popular culture. The character Zoe from Sesame Street owns a pet rock called Rocco. A video of Elmo from Sesame Street shouting at Rocco went viral in early 2022.[9]
In the film Minions: The Rise of Gru, the character Otto acquires a Pet Rock. He trades the zodiac stone for it, an integral point of the plot.[10] To promote the film, Sabec Limited released an official Pet Rock video game for Nintendo Switch.[11] A Funko Pop depicting Otto with his Pet Rock was also released.[12]
A24 produced an official licensed Pet Rock as a tie-in for the film Everything Everywhere All at Once. This version of the Pet Rock has a pair of googly eyes attached in reference to a scene from that film. Also included are the straw bedding and instructions of the original, and a new version of the ventilated box printed with scenery from the film.[13][14][15]
In the 1999 movie Office Space the characters discuss the Pet Rock, with one of the characters admiring Dahl's initiative, stating "the guy made a million dollars", then discussing a similar, gimmicky product he would like to sell himself.[17]
During the travels of the Perseverance rover on Mars, NASA scientists had observed around Sol 341 (February 4, 2022) that a small rock had dropped into one of its wheels. The rock was visible from one of the hazard avoidance cameras, and was determined not to be harmful to the rover's mission. The rock has since stayed on Perseverance's wheel for around 427 sols (439 days) as the rover traveled over 6 miles (9.7 km) on the martian surface. NASA deemed that Perseverance had adopted a pet rock for its journey.[18][19][20] Later the rover picked up another pet rock named "Dwayne".[21]
