The weird, wacky and way out there continued to make headlines in 2009, but this year there were a host of new bizarro animals and humans to add to the roster.

Giant, oversized, enormous -- whatever you want to call them -- big animals always make for the most popular oddities. This year, a monstrous 350-kilo freshwater stingray found off the coast of Thailand was the top odds search. She crushed the 'largest freshwater fish ever caught' record -- and the lady was pregnant!

The Montauk Monster also topped our search list of freaky creatures this year. The monster originally made the news in 2008 when its frightening-looking corpse washed ashore in Montauk, New York. In 2009, the owner of montauk-monster.com claimed to have found another beast. To this day, and after much speculation and controversy, no one is sure exactly what this creature was.

From big beasts to big names, celebrities continued to top odd news searches in 2009. Kanye West's less-than-polite outburst during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MVA's garnered a ton of publicity and also made him public enemy number one. Joaquin Phoenix also stunned fans when he appeared on Letterman with a serious beard, a rap career and a penchant for incoherent ramblings.

Then there are those who just 'wannabe' famous, like the ever-controversial Nadya 'Octomom' Suleman . Suleman shocked the world when she gave birth to octuplets back in January. The story got stranger when it was revealed she also had six other children at home and was not financially independent. Speaking of strange parents, who could forget Balloon Boy? News stations went berserk back in October when a couple from Colorado claimed their six-year-old, Falcon, had floated off in a homemade balloon. After an hours-long media frenzy, it was revealed the boy was not in the balloon and had been hiding in the attic of his house all along -- thus revealing the 'Balloon Boy Hoax'. The story ends with Richard Heene, Falcon's father, pleading guilty in November to the charge of attempting to influence a public servant.

We Canadians sure love our weather, especially of the bizarre variety. Back in May, searches spiked for Derecho weather (a long-lived straight-line windstorm) after a series of these strange events and tornadoes took place in the southern United States. A week of tornado outbreaks left nine people dead, dozens injured and US$70 million in damage.

To end on a sexy note, the Lingerie Football League (LFL) was our number three top odds search for 2009. If you can't figure out what it is, here's a hint: women's indoor tackle football –- and the players aren't wearing jerseys.