Pet Rock is a collectible toy made in 1975 by advertising executive Gary Dahl. They are rocks packaged in custom cardboard boxes 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 producing Pet Rocks as toys in 1975.
Lacking the capital to launch the product, Dahl recruited George Coakley and John Heagerty, two colleagues, to come on as investors. He purchased the actual rocks from Mexican beaches for less than a penny each.
In 2022, the toy company Super Impulse purchased the rights to the Pet Rock, reviving the brand. 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 post about their Pet Rocks online.
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.
See also
- Fidget spinner
- Worry stone
- Fidget Cube
- Labubu
- Office toy
- Stress ball
- Spinning top
References
External links
- Pet Rock in Top 10 Toy Crazes by Time magazine