Maybe it’s the recession, but groceries were a big hit with readers this week. The smackdown king of popularity, however, was no doubt President Obama and his healthcare law, stories for which dominated our most-read figures. Here are the week’s most popular tales.

1. Obama dares Republicans to seek healthcare repeal

“Go ahead, punk. Make my day.” While President Obama surely doesn’t carry a Magnum 45 like Dirty Harry did, he certainly talks as tough. Speaking to university students after signing his landmark healthcare legislation into law, the president taunted the Republicans to go ahead and try to repeal the new law. “If they want that fight, we can have it,” he proclaimed. Do you feel lucky, punk? Do you?

2. Wal-Mart to slash grocery prices

Are you feeling pretty hungry as this recession rolls on? Is your stomach in need of filling? Don’t worry! Help is on the way. Wal-Mart, your friendly neighborhood big box behemoth is slashing prices on groceries. That’s right, slashing prices! Hurry on down! But wait, there’s more. Buy one full bag of groceries and get another bag free! That’s right, free! (Ok, I made that last bit up.)

3. Massive storm hits Perth, Australia

Crikey, mate. That’s a lot of rain! This video was by far the most popular of the week. The storm that seemed to come out of nowhere dropped hail the size of big ice-cubes, blew over trees and shattered car windshields. But I think the real reason it was so popular was the yellow-raincoat-wearing scooter rider.

After a year of often rancorous debate, the House has passed a sweeping overhaul of the healthcare system that expands insurance coverage to nearly all Americans and hands President Barack Obama a landmark victory.

Here are some useful links from around the Web to help guide you through the reforms and what they may mean to you.

The Economist: One part basic decency, one part cost control

PolitiFact.com: Top 10 facts to know about healthcare reform

HuffingtonPost: Top 10 immediate benefits you’ll get

The Washington Post: Follow the money: How House members voted and the contributions each received from health sector

NPR: Consumer’s guide to health overhaul

Sex and sexuality in some form or another dominated our best-read list this week, whether a simple kiss, randy nurses or naked activists. There was some serious stuff in there, too, but really, it’s all about the sex.

1. British pair faces jail time in Dubai over kiss

You, dear readers, were no doubt flabbergasted when you read this headline, so much so that you clicked it straight to the top of our most read list. Dubai authorities arrested the couple in November and now face a month in prison for the crime of … kissing. Egad! Off with their heads!  My message to Dubai authorities: You must remember this: a kiss is just a kiss …

2. Insurer targeted HIV patients to drop coverage

This special report about a 17-year-old college freshman who inadvertently exposed wrongdoing in the insurance industry landed late in the week but reached No.2 on our most popular list. The story points out that “the revelations come at a time when President Barack Obama, in his frantic push to rescue the administration’s health care plan, has stepped up his criticism of insurers,” making it not only a gripping read but a timely tale as well.

3. African Jews may have the lost Ark

African Jews have the lost Ark of the Convenant. Who knew?

President Obama? Healthcare? Financial reform? VP Biden in Israel? If most-read lists are any indication, those are not the topics that make you lurch forward, scrunch up to the screen and read like your very life depends on it.  Herpes, however, does.  As does Lindsay Lohan. And the extremely rich.  By now, no doubt, you’re itching for more. Herewith, the stories that fired you up this week.

1. U.S. herpes rates remain high: CDC

It started as a little health story and then spread among readers like, well, like herpes, I guess.  I won’t go into the details – and I certainly don’t want to scare you — but it would appear that a good number of Americans are infected with the sexually transmitted disease. About 16 percent of them.  That’s almost one in five people.  That means that if you are in a room with four other people one of you likely has it. Let’s do a test: Look around the room right now …

2. Lindsay Lohan sues over “milkaholic” E*Trade ad

It seems the actress, who’s last movie was the wonderfully delightful  and highly acclaimed “I Know Who Killed Me” in 2007 (I think it won an Oscar! No, no wait. It was a Razzie – eight of them), is going after online trading company E*Trade for its “milkoholic” ad. Lohan says the “milkoholic” baby girl in the ad is modeled after her and she wants $100 million. You go girl!

3. World’s richest man, Carlos Slim, a born wheeler-dealer

$53.5 billion. That’s how much money he has.  Yep, more than Bill Gates.  More than Warren Buffett.  That’s a lot of money. I don’t have that much,yet. ‘Nuff said.

What do you get when you cross an economist, the Olympics and lots of naked people? An odd assortment of popular stories for the week. They obviously don’t make for a very funny punchline but they did get you clicking. Here are the stories that warmed your cockles (okay, maybe not, but “cockles” is a fun word, isn’t it?).

1. Winter storms to distort U.S. jobless figures-Summers

Nothing triggers a good panic like a stern warning from the White House. Maybe that’s why this story made the top of the most popular list this week. Economic adviser Larry Summers said on Monday we should all look past Friday’s monthly unemployment numbers. The winter blizzards that zapped swathes of the U.S. in February would also do a number on the jobs report, making it seem worse than it really was. Maybe you, like me, thought, “Uh-oh, this is going to be way bad.” But wait, the actual report was better than expected. What are we to think now? Should we continue to disregard it? I’m so confused.

2. Joking Canada closes Games with moose stampede

Those crazy Canucks. Leave it to them to take the gaffe seen round the world at the opening ceremony  and turn it into a fun piece of comedy for the closing. Oh, there was laughing and dancing and music. So much fun. So much goodwill. But I can’t help but ask myself: What if they had lost the gold in hockey?

3. The hovercraft that flies

This video about a hovercraft that acts like a boat until it hits a certain speed and then takes to the skies had everyone in our newsroom saying, “I want one!” That is, however, until we heard about the “Jesus pin”. As the hovercraft’s inventor says, “The pin comes out, you see Jesus.” Hmm, I’ll pass.

Tragedy, folk dancing and one mammoth-sized dog were among the story lines that grabbed your attention in a week that also saw high drama in Congress — or maybe that was low drama.  In either case, here are five of the most popular picks for the week.

1. Orca kills SeaWorld trainer

Dawn Brancheau, a trainer with 16 years experience at SeaWorld in Florida, was killed when a killer whale grabbed her by the waist, thrashed her about and took her underwater. Brancheau, 40, was patting the Orca’s head at the time.  A follow-up story provided more clues to the tragic tale. Astonishingly, the same whale had reportedly been involved in deadly incidents in the past.

2. Toyota chief grilled by Congress

As if things weren’t bad enough for beleaguered automaker Toyota. First the speed pedal gets stuck, then all those recalls, followed by your expected assortment of lawsuits. Then this week the guy who’s name is on each and every one of those cars is pretty much forced to sit before a bunch of Congressional lawmakers and pretend there’s nothing wrong with being a punching bag. Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota and the founder’s grandson, came to Washington and ended up in tears.

3. Arizona dog is world’s tallest

And in this corner, Giant George! The 4-year-old Great Dane from Tucson, Arizona, stands 3-feet 6-inches tall and weighs in at a whopping 245 pounds. Giant George eats about 110 pounds of food every month and sleeps in his very own queen-size bed — alone, according to the big pooch’s website. For perspective, remember Sadie? The Scottish Terrier that won Best in Show at Westminster last week? Well, this pup is at least 11 times bigger. What else is that height and poundage? I have no idea. I don’t want to know. I also don’t want to be the dog walker charged with yanking Giant George’s chain.

The unluckiest lottery and a potty-mouthed musician were among the stories that got you, our readers, clicking this past week, and some were still on our most popular list as the weekend came into play. Here are the top 5 stories that piqued your curiosity — or raised the hair on your neck.

Bad news for record lottery “winner”

Poor Stanley Philander. He is deaf. His wife is deaf. He works as a cleaner in South Africa. No doubt his $12 million lottery win was going to come in very handy. Except it didn’t. He didn’t win. He is still poor. His relatives don’t believe him though because the newspaper reported he won. He didn’t. He and his family have been moved to a secret location for their protection. Poor Stanley Philander.

TV medical dramas show viewers the wrong response

Scandalous! It seems the doctors and nurses in popular TV shows from “House” to “ER’ do the wrong thing nearly half the time. If you get your medical advice from the tube, you may want to ask for your kidney back. Readers  not only clicked on this story but left a plethora of comments as well. One observer keenly remarked that while TV is indeed “stupid”, why make it “more stupid than it has to be?”

Surgical tool left in Czech woman

A picture says a thousand words and the picture here says, “Oh, My God!” Doctors left a foot-long – yes, FOOT-LONG, surgical instrument in a woman’s abdomen. One foot. That’s a Subway sandwich. The head surgeon has resigned. Perhaps the disgraced surgeon can find a  position on “House”.