Facebook reveals its most shared stories in 2011

Facebook has taken a look at all the funny cat videos, poignant stories of triumph and breaking news items that users have shared over the last year and have compiled their list of the 2011's top 40 shared stories.

While there might have been tons of big news stories this year, from the death of Osama bin Laden to the royal wedding, it was the human interest stories and quirky videos that make up the bulk of this list.

The most prevalent theme of the shared stories is on parenting and family-related issues, ranging from Parents, don't dress your girls like tramps to A father's day wish: Dads, wake the hell up!. The now-famous Tiger Mother, Amy Chua, comes up more than once, both in her original controversial Wall Street Journal article Why Chinese Mothers are Superior and somewhat of a response from another writer in Notes From a Dragon Mom.

But the top item provided insight into arguably the biggest news story of 2011: the New York Times' Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami won out as the most shared story of the year. Other stories that followed the disaster in Japan also captured the interest of Facebook users, too. A dog who stayed by his canine friend in the rubble made it into the top 10, and how the earthquake shifted the Earth's axis snuck onto the list at number 36.

Facebook took into account the stories shared via Facebook buttons on article pages and links posted directly to users' Facebook walls, then shared by friends on the social interface.

The full list of the top 40 stories is below. Yahoo! readers, did you share any of these stories this year?

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? (The Huffington Post)

11. Parents keep child's gender under wraps (Yahoo)

12. How to Talk to Little Girls (The 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 (The Huffington Post)

18. A Sister's Eulogy for Steve Jobs (New York Times)

19. Ryan Dunn Dead: 'Jackass' Star Dies In Car Crash (The 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" (The 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) (The 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 (The 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)