Gary Dahl, inventor of the Pet Rock, RIP

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My “pet rock” died a week after I got it, it’s still huants me to this day.

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One kid in high school – or Junior high school given the year – had one. It came with a jokey little care booklet with sections on training and the like.

We were fully aware that it was a dumb fad thing, like Mood Rings.

This made the sight of people taking dumb fads like Cabbage Patch Kids and Tickle Me Elmo seriously kind of a shock to my cohort.

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It’s still a brilliant idea. It’s the meaning at the center of the internet. I wonder if anybody owns the rights?

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I hope his ashes are compacted into an oddly shaped mass and placed on a shelf somewhere.

@Boundegar That reminds me that my grandfather gave me a “pet rock”. It was one he just found in the backyard. So at first I was inclined to say that there aren’t any rights to be had but then I realized my grandfather wasn’t selling pet rocks, which would be a horse rock of a different color.

It’s no “jump to conclusions mat” but will have to do… :smile:
I was 9 and we lived there in the area when those came about. I honestly don’t remember if I had one or not, though…
For some reason I thought he taught Marketing or something at San Jose State for a while, but it’s not mentioned in the article.
The bar that they mentioned he opened is still there in Los Gatos. Cool place, too. He loved puns, it’s called Carrie Nation’s.

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Me too - my daughter and I have a brilliant scheme for updating this trend and I’d be interesting in knowing if we can legally use the name or who can.

Any rock can be a pet rock.
Caveat: the recently solidified volcanic ones are difficult to domesticate/train.

That’s not a pun, that’s wonderful satire!

  • Pet rock? Check.
  • Mood ring? Check.
  • Gauzy peasant blouse? Check.
  • Bell-bottom jeans? Check.
  • Army/Navy surplus jacket? Check.
  • Long unkempt hair with headband? Check.

I was a walking stereotype in those days. :slight_smile:

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I may not get a lot of agreement, but the 70’s were a great era for fashion. Especially for the ladies - they looked a hell of a lot better than what came later on in the 80’s. That decade was a fashion disaster all around.
PS, I’m thinking like first couple of seasons of Charlie’s Angels. :smile:

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Bwaahaha, I have a Pet Rock and now it will be worth Dollar$.

Le sigh.

The passing of a true genius. :frowning:

We couldn’t afford a pet rock. I brought home a stray once, but one day we were walking past a pond…

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