Every year at this time, we like to look back at our most-read posts and take a trip down Memory Lane.  Which topics got the most traction?  What really burned up the wires?  As one might imagine, the top 40 posts in terms of traffic include a number of election topics, but it wasn’t just the election that kept Hot Air readers riveted in 2012.  We’ll take a look over the next few days at the top 40 most-viewed posts, starting with slots 40-31 today:

• #40 – Georgetown co-ed: Please pay for us to have sex … We’re going broke buying birth control – Tina Korbe wrote about the testimony of a Georgetown student who somehow couldn’t figure out how to pay less than $1000 a year for birth control while going to a law school that charges over $46,000 per year in tuition.  The testimony made Sandra Fluke a star, at least for this election cycle.
• #39 –Video: How long does it take to drive 80 miles at 80 miles per hour? – One of Allahpundit’s most successful palate-cleansers ever.  A must see … and most of you have already seen it.
• #38 – Media having a little narrative problem today? – It’s tough for those who rely on the media to figure out what’s going on when the media can’t agree on it themselves.  I’m actually surprised to see this one in the Top 40, but it was certainly fun to write.
• #37 – Busted: “Republican” woman in Obama ad has been a registered Democrat since 2006; Update: Another? – As I’ve written before, political campaigns simply love political apostates.  Sometimes they love them so much they just make them up.
• #36 – Shooter identified in Connecticut, may have targeted his teacher mother – One of the worst days of the year by any measure, made worse by erroneous media reports that identified the wrong person as the Newtown shooter.  Mary Katharine and AP kept us up to date on the developments all day long.
• #35 – 8 pm: Florida, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire – Erika kept us up to date on East Coast results in the general election in the first of the November 6 open threads to make the Top 40.  Needless to say, this was mostly bad news for our readers.
• #34 – Magic gone in Ohio? – Well, that’s how it looked to Byron York for Obama, and that’s what we all hoped, too.  Unfortunately …
• #33 – Anderson Cooper grills Debbie Wasserman-Schultz: Why are you lying about Romney’s position on abortion? -A truly remarkable moment from CNN, and one that had a temporary impact on the Obama campaign.  Debbie Wasserman Schultz did so badly that Team Obama began to limit her appearances as a surrogate for Barack Obama.  It didn’t keep her from getting endorsed for a second term as DNC chair, though.
• #32 – Video: Excellent — concealed-carrier stops an armed robbery – A reminder that those who carry weapons by choice often do so for good reason — and produce good outcomes.
• #31 – If U.S. hikes taxes, high-income Californians might pay almost 52 percent – A late entry to the sweepstakes, but a worthy post by Erika.  If you wonder why people are starting to flee the Golden State, look no further than the tax liabilities for living in perpetual dysfunction and debt.

More tomorrow!