‘Einstein’s brain’ a best-seller

Curious curios: (Clockwise from top left) The traditional Chinese four-panel skirt mamianqun, Baijiu-flavoured latte, clogs, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and a virtual ‘Einstein’s brain’ are among Taobao’s top 10 products for 2023. — China Daily/ANN

Call it what you will – the sellers’ creative genius or the buyers’ love of the bizarre – but a cut-rate, “intelligence boosting” virtual product, marketed as “Einstein’s brain”, has become a coveted trophy among online shoppers on Taobao, allowing it to win a spot on the list of top 10 popular items for 2023 released by the ecommerce platform.

Sellers of the “brain”, which is priced at a few US cents on Taobao, Alibaba Group’s online marketplace, promise potential customers an IQ as high as the famous German-born theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein.