Pet Rock
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Pet Rock is a collectible toy made in 1975 by advertising executive Gary Dahl. They are rocks packaged in custom cardboard boxes<ref name="LATobit"/> complete with ventilation holes and straw bedding imitating a pet carrier.<ref name="bathroom" />
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.<ref name="bathroom">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Lacking the capital to launch the product, Dahl convinced some colleagues to invest in it.<ref name=RetFan11>Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Failed verification He purchased the actual rocks from Mexican beaches for less than a penny each.<ref name=RetFan11/>
The Pet Rock was introduced in August 1975 at a San Francisco trade show, and Dahl was then swarmed by orders from retailers.<ref name=RetFan11/> 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,Template:Cn Dahl sold nearly 1.5 million Pet Rocks for just under $4 each during the initial release, turning 95 cents profit on each unit,<ref name=RetFan11/> and became a millionaire.<ref name=ap19770207>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="mj19881115">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="HD70">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 2022, the toy company Super Impulse purchased the rights to the Pet Rock, reviving the brand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To promote the film, Sabec Limited released an official Pet Rock video game for Nintendo Switch.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A Funko Pop depicting Otto with his Pet Rock was also released.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The video game Magic: The Gathering Arena features a Pet Rock named Dwayne.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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 PerseveranceTemplate:'s wheel for around 427 sols (439 days) as the rover traveled over Template:Convert on the Martian surface. NASA deemed that Perseverance had adopted a pet rock for its journey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Later the rover picked up another pet rock named "Dwayne".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>