Most-Viewed Stories of 2012

Thinking back over the last year, you probably could come up with a pretty solid list of the most-viewed stories on Greenfield Patch.

And you probably could not be more wrong.

Thanks to a whole bunch of different circumstances, "most viewed" in 2012 does not equate to most significant or most important. Stories go viral for one reason or another, or get picked up by our partners like AOL.com or the Huffington Post.

Here’s the top 10 most-viewed stories of 2012 (as of Dec. 30), and some explanation as to why it was so popular:

1. Online Tool Matches Voters with Ideal Presidential Candidate — this baby went viral during the months leading up to the presidential election.

2. Man Pulls Gun in Greenfield Restaurant After he Gets a Piece of Birthday Cake — this quirky crime story got picked up by AOL.

3. Impatient Man Calls 911 From Police Department Lobby — A local reader submitted this story to fark.com, where odd crime stories flourish.

4. Angry Maple Grove Teacher Calls Her Sudden Transfer ‘Unethical’

5. Voter Turnout in Milwaukee Suburbs Climbing Toward 50 Percent — The gubernatorial recall election got some national attention on AOL.com.

6. Bowling Center Makes a Lane Change — Thanks to bowl.com for adding this piece on JB’s on 41 to its national news feed.

7. Fast and Furious: Donated Greenfield Police Squad One of a Kind — When you have a car like the Greenfield Police Department has, it’s going to get some attention.

8. Woman Killed in Greenfield Car Crash Identified

9. Man Accused of Doing More than Just Cruisin’ on Hwy 100 — You’ll have to read this one for yourself.

10. Jimmy John’s Offering $1 Subs Thursday — Yup, people love free, or cheap food.