The 30 Most Viral Stories Of 2014 Will Make You Shake Your Fists And Scream, 'Why?!'

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Which types of articles get shared online?

Social data company News Whip pulled the 30 most viral Facebook and Twitter stories of the year for Business Insider. The top four slots belong to Buzzfeed, and they're all quizzes. Almost everything that isn't a quiz uses a headline that leaves the reader hanging, forcing them to click for an answer.

They're exactly the kinds of stories media pundits claim are "click-bait." Nonetheless, they spread like crazy.

Here's the most viral stories of 2014 as well as their number of shares and interactions they received on Facebook and Twitter.

Rank Date Pub'd Publisher Headline FB Likes FB Shares FB Comments Facebook Total Twitter FB + Twitter Author
1 2/13/14 17:12 buzzfeed.com What State Do You Actually Belong In? 1,207,692 872,543 1,687,804 3,768,039 15,055 3,783,094 Tanner Ringerud
2 1/30/14 22:56 buzzfeed.com What Career Should You Actually Have? 1,149,226 817,531 1,018,004 2,984,761 14,146 2,998,907 Ashley Perez
3 2/12/14 21:51 buzzfeed.com Which Classic Rock Band Are You? 914,619 894,633 889,271 2,698,523 4,367 2,702,890 Justin Carissimo
4 1/16/14 17:09 buzzfeed.com What City Should You Actually Live In? 744,235 581,705 1,298,714 2,624,654 26,412 2,651,066 Ashley Perez
5 4/10/14 18:38 petflow.com She Walked Out On Stage And Blew EVERYONE Away. I Never Expected This, Astonishing! 1,252,782 892,118 344,544 2,489,444 5,131 2,494,575
6 3/11/14 14:00 kfor.com Toddler argues with mother over cupcakes; 'Listen, listen, listen, Linda!' 1,216,704 547,294 558,060 2,322,058 5,176 2,327,234 KFOR-TV
7 1/5/14 21:58 viralnova.com This Is Possibly The Most Dangerous Trail In The World. But The Shocking Part Is Where It Leads. 845,672 338,260 880,119 2,064,051 7,751 2,071,802
8 3/7/14 19:45 buzzfeed.com Which Mythical Creature Are You? 610,941 752,405 646,199 2,009,545 4,244 2,013,789 Keely Flaherty
9 4/2/14 21:45 theblaze.com Report: Shooting at Fort Hood 1,081,960 406,011 397,247 1,885,218 1,218 1,886,436 Oliver Darcy
10 4/3/14 19:48 youngcons.com Megyn Kelly refuses to back down to political correctness for talking about how Muslims abuse women | Young Conservatives 1,081,960 406,011 397,247 1,885,218 165 1,885,383 Joshua Riddle
11 3/5/14 14:36 buzzfeed.com Which U.S. President Are You? 542,113 561,203 771,632 1,874,948 3,284 1,878,232 Lara Parker
12 1/29/14 22:15 buzzfeed.com What Kind Of Dog Are You? 581,692 564,747 718,192 1,864,631 3,381 1,868,012 Chelsea Marshall
13 1/28/14 23:33 viralnova.com A Man Takes A Single Rake to The Beach. And When You Zoom Out And See It... Well, Just Look. 1,211,073 396,350 197,402 1,804,825 8,000 1,812,825
14 4/7/14 15:01 distractify.com The 60 Most Powerful Photos Ever Taken That Perfectly Capture The Human Experience 1,118,297 471,578 149,729 1,739,604 13,447 1,753,051
15 2/23/14 13:00 buzzfeed.com Which European Country Do You Actually Belong In? 518,937 494,649 681,510 1,695,096 4,571 1,699,667
16 3/19/14 0:48 buzzfeed.com What Actress Would Play You In The Movie Version Of Your Life? 578,682 511,628 558,334 1,648,644 4,907 1,653,551 Sam Stryker
17 1/8/14 23:47 slightlyviral.com Beware Of The 5 lb. Bag Of Sugarless Gummy Bears On Amazon.com - The Reviews Are Priceless! 699,091 349,404 566,735 1,615,230 5,379 1,620,609 Ryan Jennings
18 1/1/14 0:40 viralnova.com 2014 Is Going To Be My Year Now That I Know These 89 Genius Solutions To Simple Problems. 719,777 664,150 163,529 1,547,456 5,528 1,552,984
19 1/22/14 16:39 buzzfeed.com Which Decade Do You Actually Belong In? 478,528 477,413 472,861 1,428,802 3,102 1,431,904 Tanya Chen
20 2/20/14 22:28 buzzfeed.com What Should Your College Major Actually Be? 466,999 474,619 479,705 1,421,323 3,065 1,424,388 Matt Bellassai
21 2/4/14 4:12 scarymommy.com How Many Kids Should You Have? 427,119 285,212 700,832 1,413,163 271 1,413,434 Jill Smokler
22 3/3/14 6:12 upworthy.com Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong'o's Speech On Beauty That Left An Entire Audience Speechless 975,146 275,427 122,191 1,372,764 1,627 1,374,391 Joseph Lamour
23 3/9/14 23:45 viralnova.com A Passer-by Thought This Was A Pile Of Trash. I've Never Seen A More Shocking Transformation. 640,955 345,123 308,365 1,294,443 6,348 1,300,791
24 2/26/14 21:59 buzzfeed.com Which Biblical Heroine Are You? 378,248 424,441 413,832 1,216,521 1,955 1,218,476 Ellie Hall
25 1/10/14 8:25 distractify.com The 30 Funniest Notes From Kids Hopelessly Trying To Express Their Feelings 666,307 306,026 204,971 1,177,304 4,177 1,181,481 undefined
26 1/10/14 10:39 huffingtonpost.com WATCH: Beagle Steals Chicken Nuggets In Epic Style 649,221 274,507 247,945 1,171,673 3,056 1,174,729 The Huffington Post UK
27 3/3/14 19:23 buzzfeed.com What Period In History Do You Really Belong In? 317,482 440,093 399,588 1,157,163 3,306 1,160,469 Sam Stryker
28 3/26/14 21:52 distractify.com 33 Unbelievable Places To Visit Before You Die. I Can't Believe These Actually Exist On Earth... 663,945 278,883 183,579 1,126,407 5,285 1,131,692
29 5/8/14 23:19 lifebuzz.com Looking At Tears Under A Microscope Reveals A Shocking Fact. 694,483 304,276 124,724 1,123,483 6,038 1,129,521
30 3/5/14 3:40 elitedaily.com This Insane New App Will Allow You To Read Novels In Under 90 Minutes 526,911 271,377 310,671 1,108,959 28,720 1,137,679 Christian La Du