Msnbc.com's happiest stories of 2008

One of the most popular features on msnbc.com — with almost 40 million visits! — is Wonderful World. In this section you will find uplifting, happy stories and videos from the U.S. and abroad — tales of rescues and heroism; cute stories about kids and animals; and heartwarming acts of generosity that demonstrate the best of the human spirit.

But which ones are — drum roll, please — the Happiest of the Year? Well, the tally is in, and here are the Top 10 Happiest Stories of 2008, as measured by the numbers of times site users clicked on them.

Read them all — they're bound to warm your heart during this cold end-of-year weather. In fact, we're so sure that you'll want to read more of these positive postings that we've included 10 more of our personal favorites.

A very happy holiday season to you from the editors of Wonderful World!

THE TOP 10 HAPPY NEWS STORIES OF 2008

The envelope, please:

1: Fast-food worker returns $185,000 check
McDonald's employee returns check to bank after finding it on sidewalk

2: Kindness of strangers benefits tallest man
8-foot-5 frame gives Ukrainian trouble, but bike, van, PC give joy, hope

3: 5th-grader points out mistake at Smithsonian
11-year-old catches sign error that has rankled staffers for 27 years

4: Sports bra saves U.S. hiker trapped in Alps
Stranded after fall, plucky climber attracts lumberjacks with undergarment

5: Nagging wife helps win $7.7 million lottery
Young New Zealand couple says they've had a 'rough' couple of years

6: Woman returns $97,000 found in restroom
75-year-old discovered money in a bag hanging from the stall door

7: Lost parrot tells veterinarian his address
African grey parrot — missing two weeks — is returned to owners

8: Rover, call me an ambulance — dog calls 911
The German shepherd remembered his training and saved his owner's life

9: Dog's bite saves boy and pals from house fire
Plucky pooch credited with waking teen as blaze begins to consume home

10: Message in a bottle is a real blast from the past
Seattle student's school project comes full circle 21 years, 1,735 miles later

EDITORS' PICKS: FAVORITE HAPPY NEWS STORIES

1. Oyster lunch yields 26 pearls for couple
   Restaurant owner and his wife say find was a 'total surprise'

2. Forgotten bifocals lead to $3 million jackpot
   ‘It pays to be blind,’ jokes Ind. grandfather who entered wrong number

3. Mail carrier catches baby falling from window
   Albany, N.Y., postal worker credited with saving 1-year-old's life

4. Boy Scout finds $800 in wallet and returns it
   Honest 11-year-old does right thing, even though his billfold still missing

5. Waitress gets $50,000, car from cranky Texan
   ‘I still can't believe it,’ Luby's cafeteria worker says of bequest

6. Mouth to meow-th: Mass. firefighter revives cat
   Asked what it was like to save the cat, firefighter says it tasted 'like fur'

7. Bible, watermelon stop stray bullet
   ‘The word of God slowed the bullet so that it didn’t kill anybody’

8. Drunk driving suspect thanks officers after stop
   Wisconsin man grateful after being pulled over for fifth time

9. Woman finds her $20,000 earrings in landfill
   Couple and city employees find the diamonds in haystack of trash

10. Golfer hits two holes-in-one in the same round
    Not only that, but Iowa man hits them on back-to-back holes

More from msnbc.com Obama has miles to go to keep all his promises Loan guarantees recharge nuclear debate World Blog: The art of saying sorry in Japan Red Tape: Online flower prices still growing   Video: In hard-hit town, some economic hope  Haiti awash in Christian aid, evangelism

MORE FROM 2008 YEAR IN REVIEW

2008 Year in Review Section Front

The Year in News Pictures The Year in Sports Pictures   Drawn observations: The Year in Cartoons   Celebrity Curtain Calls 2008 Day by day, the top news events of 2008 Newsweek: The top 50 global elite   Slideshow: Newsmaker Farewells 2008 Obama's election voted top news story of 2008 What was the top story of 2008? Msnbc.com readers share their 2008 memories 2008 Year in Review Section Front   Add 2008 Year in Review headlines to your news reader: