Millions of Chinese internet surfers were shocked to see an item used as a potty and spittoon in China being sold on Amazon as a “traditional fruit basket” to gullible foreigners – for a princely sum in dollars, too.
Advertised as a “1960s Chinese traditional fruit basket” that could be used as a fancy “table decoration” to store fresh produce, ice, or wine, the attractive pot with ducks painted on the side was being sold on Amazon for $61.96.
However, amused Chinese people who stumbled upon the product page soon pointed out that the pot was not made for the storage of fruit and was instead used in China as either a spittoon or a potty.
“OMG! Almost every Chinese of 35 years older and up knows this is a typical portable potty, usually for children,” warned one Amazon user. “While you may say you want to use it however you like, it’s still better to know the original purpose.”
“This product is a portable toilet. Please don’t buy it for food,” wrote another user, while others called the misleading product page “disgusting” and “offensive,” and called for it to be removed.
For some Chinese users, the real scandal was the $61.96 price tag, with the Global Times reporting that the item is sold for the equivalent of just $4 in China.
The product page has since been removed, but not before the gaffe went viral in China, with the “other ways a spittoon is used” social media topic on Sina Weibo reportedly receiving over 50 million views.
Weibo users jokingly expressed concern about ignorant foreigners sending gifts of fruit in the pots to their Chinese friends, noting that “no Chinese people would feel happy if they see a delicately packed spittoon with fruits in it.”
It is not currently known whether the “traditional fruit basket” was being sold by a clueless Westerner or a Chinese person in jest.
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