It can be difficult to nail down the definition of American food since immigrants from all over the world have settled in the US and created a distinctly different varieties of their traditional cuisines. If you didn't realize it, fortune cookies are not a Chinese dessert (Chinese-American, yes). So what other foods aren't as authentic as you might think? Here are just a couple other examples.

• Spaghetti and meatballs sounds like a classic Italian dish for dinner, but it's actually not a common meal for people in Italy. Meatballs in Italy are generally smaller than their American counterparts and served separately from pasta. [url]
• The names of pasta varieties can be confusing because there are so many kinds and they look vaguely similar to the casual observer. Thankfully, there's an infographic to help you figure out the difference between rotini and marziani. [url]
• Italian restaurants in the US have created several dishes that are definitely not from Italy. One example is Lobster Fra Diavolo. Lobsters are not common in Italy, first of all. However, there could have been a similar dish with a different kind of crustacean. Maybe. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

It's January 18th, 2013, and that's a day worthy of note: the one year anniversary of the widespread protests against SOPA and PIPA. Not only did the massive reaction from the internet community succeed in stopping these dangerous bills that would have curtailed free speech and innovation online, the protests sent shockwaves through the world of politics. In a true manifestation of democracy, the combined voice of the people overruled the lobbyists and backroom dealers who, only weeks before, were smugly assured of the new law's passage.

To celebrate that victory, a bunch of groups involved in the ongoing fight for internet freedom have come together to declare Internet Freedom Day on January 18th. Here at Techdirt, we're marking the occasion with an infographic looking back at the day the internet community became a political force to be reckoned with:

Embed This:
<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130117/15210821719/infographic-celebrating-internet-freedom-day-anniversary-sopapipa-protests.shtml"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/lLtGE.jpg" title="Techdirt Celebrates Internet Freedom Day" /></a>

We've been writing about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement for a while now, so hopefully you're already aware and concerned about it. However, the good folks over at the EFF have now put together an infographic highlighting the problems of the TPP and what you can do about it. Check it out:

Didier J. MARY points us to an infographic highlighting why the TSA's security theater has been such a huge waste of taxpayer money:

Some folks are obsessed with numbers. Others are obsessed with food. Combine these two tastes that taste great together and you get: Reese's peanut butter cups infographics about food. Here are just a few random sets of data on food consumption in the US.

• Just as you probably already knew: Thin Mints are the most popular Girl Scout cookies, raking in about 25% of Girl Scout cookie sales. Samoas (aka Caramel deLites) come in at #2 with 19% of sales. [url]
• What does the average American consume in a year? Hmm: 110 lbs of red meat vs 415 lbs of vegetables? Do those numbers sound right to you? [url]
• In a survey of 500 "dudes" (ages 18-35), 90% of them had visited a McDonald's in the last 3 months. It's gotta be the fries -- a surprisingly high percentage of guys just get a drink or fries. [url]
• To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

We already covered the RIAA's subpoena to Box.net, but ReadWriteWeb has a post on the story that's worth pointing out, because it highlights this absolutely wonderful infographic that Ashley Angell put together a few months ago, mapping out the "War on Sharing" as an infographic: Definitely click through to see the full image, and to Angell's explanation for the graphic. I'm sorry I missed this when it first came out, but happy I eventually spotted it.