I remember witnessing a baffling phenomenon when I was a teen in the mid-1970s. An enterprising California advertising man marketed and sold what he called “the perfect pet”—the Pet Rock. Packaged in a small cardboard carton perforated with breathing holes, an ordinary rock was nestled in straw. Each came with a “birth certificate” for the rock—and a training manual, The Care and Training of Your Pet Rock, containing instructions for teaching the rock to “stay” or “roll over” or “play dead.” –
By: Phil Sena
Article Reprint
Pet Rocks became wildly popular in the latter months of 1975, making their creator a millionaire, but the craze had run its course by early 1976 when sales dramatically fell off.