From dancing geckos to the ‘Thriller’ cat – 2011 has brought plenty of smiles to readers.

The house that looks like Hitler

The elderly owner of an end-of-terrace house in Swansea was left bewildered when hundreds of thousands of twitter users compared his house to Hitler’s face.

The joke became a hit on social networking site Twitter when it was pointed out that the features of the house matched the fringe, moustache and piercing eyes of the dictator.

Neighbour Lyn Thomas, 25, said: “I don’t know why it would be designed in such a way. It is uncanny.”

The ‘Thriller’ cat

A short clip of a cat rearing up its hind legs raised laughs for its resemblance to Michael Jackson's dance routine in his music video to hit 1980s pop song Thriller.

The dancing Geckos

Like a lizard version of Strictly Come Dancing, a group of geckos from Indonesia get us into the party season by ‘dancing’ for photographer Shikhei Goh.

The man who proposed as a dancing carrot

In an elaborate marriage proposal a lovestruck Chinese man and 48 of his friends dress in giant carrot costumes to get his girlfriend to say "yes".

The cat who inherited 10 million euros

A black cat in Italy inherited 10 million euros (£8.5 million) from his adoptive owner, a widowed heiress who married a property tycoon.

The cat is now the proud owner of cash, shares and a property empire which includes flats and houses in Rome and Milan and land in Calabria.

The address of the cat’s new owners is being kept a secret out of fears that the newly-enriched moggy will be besieged by fortune hunters and con men.

The scooter-riding dog

A 20-month-old Briard named Norman became an internet sensation when his owners filmed him riding a scooter with his front paws on the handlebars and his hind leg pushing himself along.

The dancing granny

A grandmother from Beijing wowed viewers with her Michael Jackson-inspired dance routine on national television.

Mrs Bai, whose grandson is named Michael after the late pop star, has won plaudits for her self-taught dancing.