From previously unimagined uses of printers to an unhealthy fascination with dead celebrities’ documents, we saw a lot of strange stories in 2009. Here are the top 10:

1. Michael Jackson’s death certificate hacked by Coroner’s Dept. employees

Is nothing sacred? Where computer systems are concerned, it seems not. More…

2. Don’t toss used paper — flush it

A new machine promises to help businesses give discarded sheets of paper a second life. A short, but not so sweet second life. More…

3. Police mistake toner cartridge for a bomb

A toner cartridge was recently caused an unusual amount of excitement in a Pennsylvania town. More…

4. Print out your dinner

Of all the things printers have been used for, here’s one you may not have considered: More…

5. Drunk worker keeps his job because of printer malfunction

Anyone working in an office knows how much trouble equipment glitches can cause. But here’s a case where a printer problem put one business in an unusual predicament. More…

6. Paper that erases itself: Coming soon?

All offices have to balance the need to cut paper use with employees’ reliance on paper documents. Here’s an innovation that might soon let you achieve that balance. More….

7. Used toner cartridge? Sit on it

Here’s a creative new use for those spent toner and ink jet cartridges. More…

8. Feds try to buy back their own printers

If you required users to return office equipment, would you pay them for bringing back something the company already owns? One government agency thought that was necessary. More…

9. Monks bless green printing

It’s not the most obvious place to get your supplies, but a religious order in Wisconsin is one of the latest businesses to sell soy-based toner and ink. More…

10. A new use for copier paper

Here’s a scientific breakthrough that comes under the category: “What will they think of next?” More…

According to reports in the Los Angeles Times, the death certificate of Michael Jackson was accessed without authorization nearly a half dozen times in recent weeks.

At least six staff members at the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Department improperly viewed Michael Jackson’s death certificate hundreds of times in the two weeks right after the entertainer’s death on June 25, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Investigations by the coroner’s office have also uncovered vulnerabilities in two computer systems in which Jackson’s death investigation reports are stored, the Times said quoting Craig Harvey, the city’s chief coroner investigator.

The unspecified vulnerabilities could have allowed employees to gain unauthorized access to the investigation reports even though the reports were “locked,” the Times story said. It was not immediately clear, however, whether the reports had been accessed without authorization.

In some cases, employees printed the death certificate before it had become a public record, the Times said.