One of the most popular features of MSNBC.com are those wacky, strange stories from around the world that have readers saying "Gee whiz" — and e-mailing them to friends and family.

We call them our Peculiar Postings, and earlier this year we decided to find out which ones readers thought were the Most Peculiar in a weekly poll.

But which ones are — drum roll, please — the Most Peculiar of the Year? Well, the tally is in, and here are the Top Five Most Peculiar Stories of 2005, as voted on by our users.

Full disclosure: Since this feature only started in August, the title should strictly read The Most Peculiar of the Last Five Months of 2005. So, in case you're wondering about the wackiest tales of the first seven months of the year, we have also offered a selection from January through July. We call them our Fabulous Forty.

THE TOP 5 MOST PECULIAR STORIES OF 2005

The envelope, please:

1: And the winner is, with a 77 percent vote:
Woman torches house trying to kill spiders

2: Coming in second, with a 70 percent score:
Corpse mistaken for Halloween decoration

3: Third, with 56 percent, is this seasonal gem:
Ho, ho - oh, no! Air force flyover kills reindeer

4: Fourth, at 55 percent, is a cautionary tale:
Woman calls cops over unreliable hit man

5: And fifth, at a round 50 percent, another cautionary saga.
Gator-gobbling python comes to messy end

THE FABULOUS FORTY

3. 3 wives greet man after triple bypass surgery
5. Plumber takes a leak instead of fixing one
8. Sleepwalker rescued from top of giant crane
17. Drinking wrong beer costs man his job

PAST WEEKS OF MOST PECULIAR VOTES

Dec. 11-17, 2005

Dec. 4-10, 2005

Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2005

Nov. 20-26, 2005

Nov. 13-19, 2005

Nov. 6-12, 2005

Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2005

Oct. 23-29, 2005

Oct. 16-22, 2005

Oct. 9-15, 2005

Oct. 2-8, 2005

Sept. 25-Oct. 1, 2005:

Sept. 18-24, 2005:

Sept. 11-17, 2005:

Sept. 4-Sept. 10, 2005:

Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2005:

Aug. 21-27, 2005: