A year of weird: Odd lang syne 2005's oddest tales

Just like every year, 2005 had its share of riveting, important news stories, events like Hurricane Katrina that hold our attention for days, weeks, months.

Then there are those other stories you find yourself drawn to: the ones that might not really matter, but they're just so deliciously weird you can't turn away.

You know the stories. The ones that -- for a moment, sometimes a day -- caused a head shake or an eye roll or a bit of laughter.

Here's a look at some of our favorite weird stories.

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WHAT'S FOR LUNCH: The case of the "chili finger."

It was a fast-food nightmare -- a woman who said she found a fingertip while eating chili with her family at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose on March 22.

Although authorities suspected Anna Ayala's story was a hoax, the case of the errant digit took on a life of its own. Wendy's set up a hot line and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the finger's owner. Several tipsters came forward to identify the fingertip as belonging to Ayala's husband.

UPDATE: Ayala, 39, and Jaime Placencia, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiring to file a false claim and attempted grand theft. Wendy's, which reported losing millions, has rebounded. (Or so it seems when you watch their TV commercials.)

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HE WON'T BE BACK: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger breaks the ties that bind with his hometown.

The bodybuilder-turned-actor-turned-governor demanded all references to his name be removed from the city's official Web site and its soccer stadium.

The demand came after city officials were scheduled to meet to discuss whether to remove his name from the stadium because Schwarzenegger refused to intervene in the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams, who co-founded the Crips street gang and was later convicted of the murders of four people.

Capital punishment is illegal in Austria. Opposition had run especially high in Graz, whose official slogan is "City of Human Rights."

Schwarzenegger also returned a ring of honor given to him by the city.

UPDATE: Schwarzenegger said in a letter to officials that he planned to return to visit. He may want to wait awhile. The next scheduled execution is California is Jan. 17.

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STRANGE BUT TRUE: The Valentine's Day mass suicide plot.

Forget chocolate hearts and kisses. Gerald D. Krein Jr. was indicted in February for using the Internet to try to organize a mass suicide on Valentine's Day.

Krein, now 27, had been encouraging women he met online to come to his home in Klamath Falls, Ore., to participate in the suicide, authorities said. "Do you think of suicide?" he asked. "Do you want to die with others," he went on, according to a transcript of an instant message he sent to one woman's computer. He told authorities he had contacted up to 31 women.

"I was convinced it was a joke," said Jaime Shockman, who received one of his messages. She decided it was serious when Krein told her that a mother from Portland, Ore., planned to commit suicide along with her five children.

UPDATE: Krein is being held at the Oregon State Hospital after a psychiatrist found he was unfit to stand trial because of mental health disorders.

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THE YEAR OF EATING DANGEROUSLY: Cookie Monster goes on a diet.

"Sesame Street" kicked off its 36th season in April with a story arc about healthy habits -- complete with dancing and singing vegetables and celebrity guests exercising with Muppets.

But the story took a disturbing turn when it was discovered that Cookie Monster also would be taking up the healthy eating mantle and cutting back on his cookie intake. The big blue stopped singing "C is for cookie, that's good enough for me" in favor of a new tune -- "A Cookie is a Sometimes Food."

"Sesame Street" producers quickly assured their audience that Cookie Monster was not going being put on a diet. Rather, they said, they were teaching the furry one to try different kinds of cookies (read: healthier cookies) rather than just his staple, chocolate chip.

UPDATE: Cookie Monster is still plump, furry, blue and scarfing food and the occasional object.