Answer: China

In 1975, Californian advertising executive Gary Dahl hit it big when his goofy novelty gift, The Pet Rock, became a huge fad. Millions of the little rocks accompanied by instruction books flew off the shelf at $4 a pop.

Three years later, Dahl attempted to capitalize on the popularity of his previous foray into the novelty gift market by selling “Red China Dirt”: single cubic centimeters of Chinese soil encased in tiny acrylic cubes. The gag revolved around the absurd attempt to steal China from the Chinese a thimbleful at a time. Red China Dirt was a flop and failed to gain even a fraction of the popularity that lifted The Pet Rock to success.