The 12 most viral stories of 2012 (SLIDESHOW)

BOSTON — Judging from the most-viewed stories on GlobalPost, 2012 was a year marked by violence, internet freedom debates, political gaffes, and the — let's call them "provocative" — habits of a few world-class athletes.

But there was much more to 2012 than that, and we couldn't let the year end without highlighting a few of the best pieces our readers may have missed.

By no means an exhaustive list, this collection will point you toward some of GlobalPost's most unique, insightful, explanatory and investigative journalism from the past year. Below, we've paired two pieces from each month of 2012: an editors' pick alongside the month's most popular story. Our most-viewed stories are also listed at the bottom of the page.

GlobalPost's 12 most viral stories of 2012:

January: Mother raped own daughter for 'sex education'
February: Anonymous, joining Wikileaks, hacks into the big time
March: Study reveals men turn dumber around women
April: CIA secret prison in Poland: Leaders break their silence
May: South Korea to chemically castrate repeat child rapist
June: Google, Facebook take down 'offensive' India content
July: Meet Michelle Jenneke, the Australian hurdling teen with a 'sexy' warm-up routine (VIDEO)
August: Henrik Rummel erection: US rower denies being 'excited' on podium
September: Life and death in Aleppo (PHOTOS)
October: Romney's binders full of women comment goes viral
November: Malaysia: moral panic over couple's sex blog
December: Sandy Hook shooting: Girl, 6, was sole survivor of her first grade class

Which GlobalPost stories do you think were most memorable this year? Let us know in the comments.