Uncover the Nostalgia: Top 10 Fascinating Fun Facts from 2006 You Never Knew!

1. Facebook Opens to the Public

In the year when Pluto was demoted from being a planet and had to update its cosmic résumé, another giant decided to open its doors to the common folk, giving them the power to virtually poke, like, and share their thoughts without an Ivy League invitation: In September 2006, Facebook began allowing anyone with a valid email address, aged 13 and up, to join its social networking platform, previously exclusive to Harvard students and select colleges.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Archie: World's Ugliest Dog

In 2006, Archie was the talk of the dogwalk, strutting his "unique" features for all to see - after all, beauty is in the eye of the bone-holder: Archie, a Chinese crested dog, claimed his 15 minutes of fame by winning the coveted title in the 18th annual World's Ugliest Dog contest, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California.
Source => abcactionnews.com

Did you know that in 2007, a monumental merger of media giants resulted in an entertainment empire responsible for your favorite TV networks and movie studios? 🎬🎥📺💍

=> Fun Facts about 2007

3. Twitter's Humble Beginnings

Back in 2006, when hashtags were but a glimmer in a programmer's eye and 140 characters were sufficient to avoid foot-in-mouth syndrome, a new social media platform chirped into existence: On March 13, 2006, Jack Dorsey began coding Twttr, which evolved into Twitter, known for transforming communication, inspiring new forms of literature, and becoming our trusty global event detector.
Source => wired.com

4. Time's Person of the Year: You

In the era of MySpace and the great YouTube migration, Time Magazine bestowed an honor upon all who logged in and uploaded with wit and whimsy: In 2006, "You" were crowned as Time's Person of the Year, highlighting the rise of user-generated content and the burgeoning power of internet communities.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. Pluto's Planetary Demotion

2006: The year Pluto faced an astronomical identity crisis and got kicked out of the planetary club for not meeting the "gravitational bouncer" criteria: In a controversial decision by the International Astronomical Union, our former ninth planet was demoted to a dwarf planet due to its inability to clear other similar-sized objects near its orbit—despite orbiting the sun and maintaining a spherical shape.
Source => kcra.com

6. Halloween Spending vs. NASA Budget

Houston, we have a… pumpkin? It seems that in 2006, Americans' expenses were astronomically inclined towards spooky festivities rather than space explorations: NASA's budget that year was $15.125 billion, while Americans collectively spent a whopping $4.96 billion on Halloween costumes and decorations.
Source => theguardian.com

7. Daniel Craig's James Bond Debut

In 2006, shaken (not stirred) martinis were sipped, hearts were stolen and poker faces remained intact as a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed Brit stepped into the well-polished shoes of the legendary spy Mr. Bond: This marked the premiere of "Casino Royale," exploring James Bond's origins through the pursuit of a terrorist financier and a complicated love affair, while introducing the world to the grittier side of 007, played by none other than Daniel Craig.
Source => yahoo.com

8. Snakes on a Plane: Hype Gone Wrong

You know what they say: two many snakes spoil the plane! In a twist to rival the wiliest of serpents, 2006's slithering airborne disaster "Snakes on a Plane" fell flatter than a snake regurgitating its own tail at the box office: Despite generating an avalanche of online buzz, the movie only raked in $15 million on its opening weekend and barely doubled this amount by the time it exited theaters. Hollywood pundits now invoke this tale of internet hype-gone-amiss as a cautionary reminder, as seen in the recent underperformance of "In the Heights" despite copious social media enthusiasm.
Source => yahoo.com

9. Tesla's Revolutionary Roadster

In 2006, electric cars were the new kid on the block and zipping into the future like Marty McFly, with Tesla as Doc Brown introducing its first-ever battery-powered Delorean: the Roadster. The first all-electric sports car to boast lithium-ion battery cells, it could cover a jaw-dropping 320 kilometers per charge, accelerate from 0 to 97 km/h in a lightning-fast 3.7 seconds, and reach a top speed of 201 km/h, ultimately selling around 2,450 units worldwide before production ceased in 2012.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

10. Explore Mars from Your Desktop

Ready to take a Mars bar break from Earth and explore new horizons? Unwrap this cosmic treat: In 2006, the HiRISE team at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Lab developed HiView, a software tool that allows the public to download high-resolution Martian images and explore the Red Planet's surface from their desktops, offering data exploration, image enhancement, and statistics tools while boasting over 67 Terabytes of image data available for your extraterrestrial delight.
Source => news.arizona.edu