As 2025 fades into the rearview mirror, it’s worth taking a moment to look back at the stories that made us stop, reread, and occasionally ask, “Wait… what?” From AI-fueled delusions and haunted buses to brain-powered computers and possible portals ripping open reality, these were some of the most unusual headlines we covered this past year. There’s no ranking here—just a grab bag of high strangeness for you to peruse again as the new year breaks and the world continues doing whatever this is.

In a bizarre and troubling incident from Russia, a 26-year-old woman signed away her soul for 100,000 rubles (roughly $1,180). What makes the story even stranger is what she chose to do with the money—she spent it on a Labubu doll collection and a concert ticket.