Japanese Dolls to curb loneliness?

For grandparents who live far away from their grandchildren and seldom get to see them, a Tokyo firm has a solution: Send the firm a picture of the baby, and in six weeks you will receive a look-alike doll. “Only it doesn’t end there,” reports New Scientist. “A digital microchip recorder inside the doll records the baby’s early gurgles, so it even sounds like your baby. Simply hold the doll’s hand and it will play back the baby’s voice—or whatever else you record. According to The Nikkei Weekly, the $400 doll is mostly ordered by grandparents who rarely see their offspring’s offspring.”