Read, yes. Shared, not necessarily.

Last year, the New York Times ran a story that said hairy eyebrows were back in fashion. At the time, the London police had just uncovered an alleged plot to detonate 10 airliners over the Atlantic Ocean. The ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict had just gone into effect. And then, of course, the term "planet" had just got a new definition and it excluded my zodiac sign's ruling planet, Pluto.

The earthshaking stories grabbed the headlines, and rightfully so. But thick eyebrows won the popularity contest. It topped the NYT's list of most emailed stories. "It says a lot about what topics people find interesting enough to pass along," a friend of mine commented.

That observation comes to mind every time I check NYT online. Just today, #1 on the NYT's most emailed is a piece about how the contents of a date's apartment can ruin a romance in the offing. A few days ago, it was an investigation on cheap cooking wine. Not long before that, the most popular NYT story looked into the increasing number of couples wanting to sleep on separate beds.

The New York Times is not the only newspaper site with this kind of listing. Other sites like the BBC have its most read and most emailed lists, too. Right this moment, the story most forwarded by readers of the British news agency is one about hackers targetting a UK department store. On the 2nd spot is a story on Durex's first UK recruitment drive for condom testers. Next up is an article about the ruckus over a milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ that is on exhibit at a New York gallery.

Some of the news stories I've shared with friends are no less odd. Neither are the ones that my friends thought I might find interesting. The topics include Mariah Carey's trademarking lawsuit against a porn star named Mary Carey, a woman's death after a water drinking contest, and Beijing's taste for penis as a delicacy.

There are stuff that we read. Then, there are stuff that we share with others. What kind do you pass along?