Most-Read Facebook Stories of 2011

Which Stories Got Shared the Most on Facebook?

Your Facebook news feed does not just consist of your friends telling you what they had for lunch, or cryptic emo messages fishing for responses. Facebook has become a go-to platform for sharing news stories.

Facebook shared the top 40 stories that its users passed around in 2011. Here are the top 10 Shared Stories on Facebook for 2011:

1. Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami (New York Times)

2. What teachers really want to tell parents (CNN) 

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3. No, your zodiac sign hasn't changed (CNN) 

4. Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps (CNN) 

5. Father Daughter Dance Medley Video (Yahoo)

6. At funeral, dog mourns the death of Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan (Yahoo)

7. You'll freak when you see the new Facebook (CNN) 

8. Dog in Japan stays by the side of ailing friend in the rubble (Yahoo) 

9. Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines (Yahoo)

10. New Zodiac Sign Dates: Ophiuchus The 13th Sign? (The Huffington Post) 

Stories about the new Zodiac sign take up two spots in the top spot. In and around the hard-news stories of 2011, it seemed like everyone wanted to know about Ophiuchus.

Speaking of hard-news stories, the ultimate was the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, the effects of which are still being felt.

Did you notice that nearly 1/3 of the top 10 are parent-oriented stories? Yup, your mom and dad might just be on Facebook more often than you are. Rounding out the top 10 are a story about the Facebook redesign and, of course, a giant-crocodile story.