This is apparently a true story. I keep giggling, then gagging:

Finger Found in Wendy’s Chili–Sales Drop Sharply

(Columbus, Ohio–AP, March 26, 2005) — Sales have dropped sharply at Wendy’s restaurants in the area of northern California where a woman claimed she found part of a finger in a bowl of chili.

A company spokesman says “It is an isolated incident. However, it is dramatically affecting sales in that market.”

A restaurant analyst says he doesn’t expect Wendy’s business to suffer long-term. He says the hamburger chain serves about six million meals a day across the country and has a “national reputation for both quality and cleanliness.”

Police in Santa Clara, California, say so far it’s impossible to tell whether the finger was cooked along with the main batch of chili or somehow dropped into the serving cup afterward.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)