“Singles Day” in China (November 11, or 11/11) was launched by Alibaba in 2009 with the intent that unmarried, single shoppers would go online and splurge on something nice for themselves. The event has since grown to become a major extravaganza. This year’s four-hour televised Singles Day’s Eve, for example, featured major Chinese celebs and movie stars. Daniel Craig even joined Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma, and Kevin Spacey made a video appearance as President Frank Underwood. “In the first 90 minutes after the Singles Day kickoff, at midnight in Beijing, Alibaba said it surpassed $5 billion in total sales,” notes Wired. “Seventy-four percent of those were from mobile phones.”