Oh, Marketing class! Yes, you do have to design a product and how to sell it...

 Gary Dahl made millions selling… rocks. And he did it with a straight face.

In 1975, the advertising copywriter was sitting in a bar when friends started venting about their pets — the barking, the shedding, the vet bills. Dahl joked, “You know what the perfect pet is? A rock.”

The joke didn’t end at the bar.

He went home and wrote a 32-page manual on how to care for a Pet Rock. It came in a cardboard box with breathing holes, a bed of straw, and simple instructions like “don’t walk it” and “avoid feeding it after midnight.” It was absurd. It was satire. And it worked.

Within six months, Gary Dahl had sold over 1.5 million Pet Rocks at $3.95 each. He became a millionaire off a product that literally did nothing.

But the fame turned sour fast.

He was called a con man. A symbol of consumer stupidity. Fellow advertisers mocked him. Friends turned cold. Everyone wanted a piece of the rock.

Dahl retreated from the spotlight. He bought a bar. He wrote a novel. He created other inventions, but none came close. Not because he didn’t have ideas — but because America wasn’t in on the joke anymore.

He later said, “Sometimes, the best thing that can happen to you is also the worst.”

Gary Dahl’s Pet Rock wasn’t just a gag — it was a mirror. A commentary on consumerism. On marketing. On us.

And the man behind it? Not a huckster. A satirist who proved the line between genius and ridiculous is paper-thin — and often wildly profitable.

=======================================================================Now: why do I mention this (aside from some historical marketing news):

See this. And I have kept an idea since 1975 (and Mr. Dahl's success) that I will share if you call and ask. And it's about...water. Because we ALL need water, yes? Even if someone puts a silly label and brand on it...and it goes viral and sells...something like...are-you-kidding-me Diet Water? 

Mine is just as good an idea. I'm not looking to be in business now. Just to create-invent ideas.

And when YOU buy your own island in the Caribbean after selling it out to a bigger label-distributor...just remember me. (Hint: a new Jeep Grand Cherokee, please.)