Abstract

One day in early March 2005, Anna Ayala’s husband brought home the tip of a co-worker’s finger that had been severed in a work accident. Anna soon put the decaying digit to use, dropping it in her steaming bowl of chili at a Wendy’s restaurant in San Jose, California. Feigning revulsion, Anna threatened to sue Wendy’s claiming that the fast food chain was cutting corners with the con carne in its chili. She protested that she hadn’t ordered finger food.