Year in review: Bizarre viral stories of 2012
Some stories are just so strange that it is inevitable audiences will be drawn in and want to share it with friends. From a legendary Hollywood actor talking to an empty chair to a "face-chewing" Fla. man, this year certainly had its moments. Here are some of the most bizarre viral stories of 2012.
Who can forget the sweet Cecilia Jimenez, the woman who is best known for her ill-fated attempts to restore an Spanish fresco?
The fresco, which was painted by famous Spanish artist Elias Garcia Martinez was turned into a cartoonish rendition of Jesus Christ. The incident became so famous that tourists now visit the Spanish city to see Jimenez's work.
This year brought us reports of porn being displayed on a 55-inch TV at a Best Buy in Greenville, S.C. A woman, her son and his children saw the offending photograph, which was up for several minutes, allowing time for other families to see the pornographic image.
In March, a video called "Kony 2012" was uploaded to YouTube told the story of filmmaker Jason Russell's personal mission to take down Joseph Kony, the Ugandan leader of the guerrilla group Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
The video garnered over 26.6 million views in less than a week, but it's also sparked controversy because the filmmakers were accused of spending more money on marketing than on-the-ground humanitarian work.
Russell was later arrested in San Diego, but not before being filmed naked and rambling on the street, in a video that was broadcast on TMZ.com.
Marilyn Hagerty, 85, became instant Web hit when her piece in Grand Forks, N.D. paper about new Olive Garden restaurant in town Grand Forks Olive Garden review goes viral" suddenly went viral.
"Somebody told me I had gone viral," Hagerty said on "CBS This Morning: Saturday"
"I had to ask, 'What's that?' I had never thought I'd be viral. A lot of other things, but never viral. But now I am viral!"
Leading up to Facebook's initial public offering reports that the social network's co-founder Eduardo Saverin relinquished his U.S. citizenship in favor of his current residence of Singapore.
It was reported that Saverin could have dodged $67 million in U.S. taxes because Singapore does not have capital gains taxes. Saverin was born in Brazil, moved to the United States in 1992 and became a citizen in 1998.
Saverin, who has been living in Singapore since 2009, denied that his move was related to tax evasion and said in a statement that he is obligated and will pay "hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes to the United States government."
Patricia Krentcil was arrested in May after taking her 6-year-old daughter to a tanning salon and allegedly causing a slight burn by allowing the child to use one of the tanning beds.
Krentcil told WCBS in New York that the whole thing was a big misunderstanding. She was charged with second-degree child endangerment and has since said she has stopped tanning.
Rudy Eugene came to national attention when he was caught chewing on the face of Ronald Poppo, before being shot and killed by police.
The bizarre crime sparked dubious speculation that he was a zombie. However, an autopsy showed there was no human flesh in Eugene's stomach. Police initially blamed Eugene's mental state on an LSD-like drug called "bath salts."
The U.S. presidential elections brought a host of bizarre stories that went viral.
Clint Eastwood's surprise appearance at the Republican National Convention was exciting for fans, but has also attracted some likely unintentional, unwelcome attention.
The 82-year-old legendary actor and director made an appearance at the RCN to support Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. During a 10-minute improvised speech, Eastwood exchanged words an imaginary President Obama.
The appearance sparked Internet jokes on Twitter and other social networks, including a photo meme that depicted people talking to empty chairs. Eastwood defended himself, saying that when he was mayor of Carmel, Calif. he never gave speeches.
"They've got this crazy actor who's 82 years old up there in a suit," he said. "I was a mayor, and they're probably thinking I know how to give a speech, but even when I was mayor I never gave speeches. I gave talks."
During the second presidential debate Mitt Romney was asked to respond to a question about pay equity for women. Romney recounted a story in which he noticed none of the applicants for his cabinet were women, adding that his staff responded by saying: "Well, these are the people that have the qualifications."
"I went to a number of women's groups and said, 'Can you help us find folks,' and they brought us whole binders full of women," Romney said. The quote immediately went viral on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and YouTube. The hashtag #bindersfullofwomen become a worldwide trend on Twitter.
Google search interest in the term "binders" increased by 425 percent during the first hour of the debate and "binders full of women" was the No. 3 Google trending query for the night.
One of the strangest stories of the year was that of the hunt for John McAfee, founder of the anti-virus software company that bears his name.
Police in the Central American nation of Belize began the hunt for the founder of the software company McAfee Inc. in November. McAfee was a "person of interest" in the slaying of another U.S. citizen, his neighbor in an island town on the Caribbean.
McAfee could not be found, sparking an international manhunt. It was discovered that the eccentric millionaire was hiding in Guatemala after Vice Magazine sent a photo out to the press that held meta data, including McAfee's exact location.
McAfee was arrested by police in Guatemala, but was later released and fled to Miami in December.
For better or worse, it was certainly a memorable year.
