KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 ― Chinese internet users are abuzz over the humble chamber pot rebranded as an “enamel fruit basket” and sold on US e-commerce platform Amazon.
According to Chinese portal Global Times, besides being tagged at a price almost 15 times its regular price in China, the ad promoted the item for use with dining and fashion.
A similar product sold on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, is priced at a much more modest 28 yuan (RM17.52).
One Weibo user quoted by the portal expressed hope that no one would buy the chamber pot and send it as a gift to their Chinese friends.
“Because no Chinese people would feel happy if they see a delicately packed spittoon with fruits in it,” commented the user.
Another user joked about his childhood potty fetching such a high price of US$60 (RM242.55).
The humble spittoon, commonly seen in Chinese households in the 1980s and 1990s, went viral after an internet user posted a picture on social media with a wide range of uses, including holding vegetables and fruits, as an ice bucket, decorating the kitchen and used as a gift for housewarming and weddings.
The post was widely circulated among Chinese internet users as they were amazed to see the spittoon so highly regarded on a US online marketplace.
The hashtag “the other ways a spittoon is used” has since received more than 50 million views of comments on Chinese social platform Sina Weibo.
