Facebook’s 40 most shared articles of 2011

What do the Japanese tsunami, zodiac signs and a giant crocodile have in common? No, they’re not the subject of a bad bar joke. They’re all on a list of the 40 most shared stories on Facebook in 2011.

The world’s largest social network has released the list as a note on its media hub page.

Research from earlier this year by the Pew Research Center‘s Project for Excellence in Journalism found that even though Google may still be the highest source of traffic for news sites, the sharing of articles on Facebook is increasingly key to traffic.

Social media, and Facebook in particular, is “rapidly becoming a competing driver of traffic,” the study said.

The list provides a glimpse into the collective consciousness of 800-million people notes “social media anthropologist” Tac Anderson in his observations on the list.

According to Facebook, the stories on the list “range from cute to thought provoking and represent the type of news people have been sharing and discovering with friends in 2011.”

Here’s the list:

1. Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami (New York Times)
2. What teachers really want to tell parents (CNN)
3. No, your zodiac sign hasn’t changed (CNN)
4. Parents, don’t dress your girls like tramps (CNN)
5. (video) – Father Daughter Dance Medley (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? (Huffington Post)
11. Parents keep child’s gender under wraps (Yahoo)
12. How to Talk to Little Girls (Huffington Post)
13. Stop Coddling the Super-Rich (New York Times)
14. Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior (Wall Street Journal)
15. (video) – Twin Baby Boys Have A Conversation! (Yahoo)
16. Man robs bank to get medical care in jail (Yahoo)
17. Why You’re Not Married (Huffington Post)
18. A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs (New York Times)
19. Ryan Dunn Dead: ‘Jackass’ Star Dies In Car Crash (Huffington Post)
20. Scientists warn California could be struck by winter ‘superstorm’ (Yahoo)
21. Notes From a Dragon Mom (New York Times)
22. A Message to Women From a Man: You Are Not “Crazy” (Huffington Post)
23. Obama’s and Bush’s effects on the deficit in one graph (Washington Post)
24. Penn State, my final loss of faith (Washington Post)
25. Golden-Voiced Homeless Man Captivates Internet (Yahoo)
26. The most typical face on the planet (Yahoo)
27. Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis (CNN)
28. Permissive parents: Curb your brats (CNN)
29. A father’s day wish: Dads, wake the hell up!(CNN)
30. (video) – Laughing Baby Loves Ripping Paper! (Yahoo)
31. Epic Cover Letter: How To Get Hired For Your Dream Job (PICTURE) (Huffington Post)
32. New Zodiac sign dates: Don’t switch horoscopes yet (Washington Post)
33. Things Babies Born in 2011 Will Never Know (Yahoo)
34. The Psychology of Revenge: Why We Should Stop Celebrating Osama Bin Laden’s Death (Huffington Post)
35. (photo gallery) – ‘Where Children Sleep’ (New York Times)
36. Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet, shifted Earth’s axis (CNN)
37. Steve Jobs, Apple founder, dies (CNN)
38. China’s latest craze: dyeing pets to look like other wild animals (CNN)
39. Grant Hill’s Response to Jalen Rose (New York Times)
40. Steve Jobs’s Patents (New York Times)