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 e-commerce platform on Monday.

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.

The product page flaunts the scientist's iconic photographs, complete with his chevron mustache and frizzy gray hair. One particular advertisement for the product goes a step further to promise a spurt in brain cells overnight, even though it seeks to clarify that no physical goods or services will be delivered.

A top-selling store on Taobao recorded as many as 120,000 orders for "Einstein's brain" during the high-stakes national college entrance exams, or gaokao, in June.

In addition to the "intelligence boosting" virtual product, a range of other unique products have been embraced by online shoppers. Most of these either offer a certain degree of emotional comfort or have high entertainment value.

For example, the "wake-up-from-love insults", which is a chat support service for people who suffer from a special condition that fixates them on romance. The service bombards the intended person with messages to coax them out of a bad relationship.