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Pet Rock
Pet rocks were a 1970s fad conceived by California
salesman Gary Dahl. Pet rocks were ordinary rocks bought
at a hardware store, and marketed as if they were live
pets.
In 1975, Dahl established "Rock
Bottom Productions", a company that sold the rocks
for $3.95 apiece. The rocks came nestled in straw, contained
in a small box similar to a pet carrier. A "Pet Rock
Training Manual" was included on how to properly
raise and care for your newfound pet (notably lacking
instructions for feeding). People who purchased these
unusual "pets" often gave them names, talked
to them, petted them, and taught them to perform simple
"tricks".
The instruction manual contained several
commands that could be taught to the new pet. While "sit"
and "stay" were fairly easy to accomplish, "roll
over" usually required extra effort on the part of
the trainer. "Come" was found to be impossible
to teach reliably.
The advent of electronic toys gave a
new twist to the idea: a Ragin' Rocky talking rock from
Playmates Toys.
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