Bieber fever and other contagions reveal some things about fame, money, and us
Teenage girls aren’t the only ones with Justin Bieber fever.
In April a sneaker autographed by the pop star sold for $1,425 on eBay. The buyer? A 52-year-old man from Ontario. That might seem like a lot for a used shoe, but it’s small change compared with the more than $40,000 brought in by Bieber’s auctioned hair clippings. That’s right, hair. As in, all mammals have it.
So why do people pay extreme sums for possessions, or even pieces, of celebrities? Well, one explanation lies in the very word fever.