In Andean popular legend, the Pishtaco is a vampire-like figure who attacks wayfarers and slices off their fat, a terrifying fate in a culture that traditionally celebrates rotundity. The Pishtacos became 21st century news when Peruvian police arrested a gang of men who allegedly murdered people for their fat, supposedly selling the substance to European perfumeries. While police displayed evidence of the gang's alleged subcutaneous devilry, international perfume makers were skeptical because the market for the material is small. Most humans who use fat for cosmetic reasons as an anti-wrinkle treatment use their own. By the end of November, local journalists began questioning the official account, alleging that it may have been a way to distract public attention from more-sinister crimes, including the existence of police death squads in other parts of the country. On Dec. 1, the head of the national police who announced the existence of the fat-stealing gang was put on administrative leave.
The Top 10 Everything of 2009
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Art Exhibitions
- Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Top 10 Best Business Deals
- Top 10 Breakups
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Children's Books
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
- Top 10 Facebook Stories
- Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
- Top 10 Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Ideas
- Top 10 Heroes
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 News Stories
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Pariahs
- Top 10 Pictures of the Year
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 T-Shirt-Worthy Slogans
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Tweets
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 Untruths
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 Worst Biz Deals
TIME charts the highs and lows of the past year in 50 wide-ranging lists