Pet Rock fad

Fancy a pet that fits in your pocket, doesn't make a mess, doesn't need to be fed and has lots of other benefits? The answer is not a tamagotchi (because after all you have to clean its mess and etc.) - it's a pet rock.

The pet rock was a fad (trend) of the 1970s.

Grey pebbles were imported from a place called Rosarita Beach in Mexico, nestled and packaged in a cardboard box that looked like a pet carrier, along with a Pet Rock Training Manual, and then sold for $3.95.

Soon everybody owned a pet rock, which made Gary Dahl,the man behind this idea, a millionaire.

The Pet Rock Training Manual has instructions on how to take care of your pet rock, including teaching it tricks. 'Sit' 'stay' and 'attack' were easy to achieve. On the other hand, 'come' was obviously impossible.

The pet rock fad disappeared in December 1975, lasting only about 6 months.

Nowadays the pet rock package and the training manual are available on ebay but people usually find their own pet rocks.

There are websites regarding pet rocks too.

Pet rocks are great for those who live in apartments or those who aren't sure if they're ready to bare the commitment of 'real' troublesome pets.
Also, they'll live for eons, so you won't be suffering any loss (unless they get lost).
Pet rocks are the ultimate solution for those who can't afford or don't want to spend much on pets: You're not obliged to buy them any furniture or stuff and they can travel without a ticket.

I own 2 pet rocks, Bloo and Pebble, although I haven't been giving them much attention these last 2 months - but what are Pet Rocks for!

Links regarding pet rocks:
Wikipedia
http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/Culture/Fads/Pet_Rocks.asp
Pet rock net
Pet rock how to's at WikiHow
http://www.virtualpet.com/vp/farm/petrock/petrock.htm

picture credit: http://www.eikongraphia.com/?p=408