Introduction People are inventing all the time They make new things They come up with new ideas They build on current ideas People invent for different reasons They see problems They want to solve problems They want to help people They want to improve the world They want to make things easier They enjoy creating Some inventions are useless They don’t make sense They’re strange But there are strange inventions And then there are really strange inventions These inventions are so strange that they’re hard to believe They sound like fiction But these stories are all true
One of the first human inventions was fire
Pet Rocks Gary Dahl worked in advertising This is the business of promoting things He invented pet rocks in 1975 He was in a restaurant His friends complained about their pets This gave Dahl the idea People told him it was dumb But he didn’t listen He said rocks weren’t just rocks He said they were pets He said they were the best pets He said they were easy to care for Rocks didn’t need to be fed They didn’t need to be walked They wouldn’t die He packed the rocks in cute boxes The boxes were carriers Carriers are special 6 chapter one
Pet rocks were a fad They were popular and then died out pet containers They had handles They had air holes They had hay beds inside This kept pet rocks warm It kept them comfortable 7
