A Tokyo toy shop worker tries out a lap pillow. Photograph: Toru Yamanaka/Getty
"... It'll be lonely this Christmas, without you to hold ...". But not, perhaps, if you live in Japan and invest in a human-shaped pillow.
Hot on the heels of a £45 man's arm pillow, which hit the headlines in October, is one for the fellas: the foam lap-pillow. Now there may be something lost in translation that I am missing here but I think it is basically, nay startlingly, a pillow in the shape of the bottom half of a woman. Albeit one that bears a striking resemblance to a Jake and Dinos Chapman sculpture.
The Complete Waste of Time blog dubs it both "weird and creepy" but sales have reportedly been brisk. The idea is that single men can use it to "sleep on", but goodness knows what manner of pillow deviancy actually goes on.
The fact that you can buy versions for both genders may disarm critics who may find the whole thing a tad demeaning. It seems fair to note, however, that the lap pillow does feature a very short skirt and I don't suppose Germaine Greer would be that impressed.
The final word, however, must go to Elvis:
