Call for Nominations: Non-Specific Item of the Year

I’ve solicited nominations for a bunch of “Year’s Best” categories, with varying degrees of success. Best Pop Song was great (and has added a few songs to the list of things to check out the next time I hit iTunes), but I was hoping for more from the best physics results. Was it really that slow a year?

Anyway, here’s a request for some outside-the-box thinking:

In your opinion, what was the best thing of 2006 that doesn’t fall into one of the previous categories?

This could be a cultural work (“Best DVD Release of 2006: Pinky and the Brain“), a physical thing (“Best dessert of 2006: Schadenfreude pie”), a news story (“Best Political Event of 2006: Democratic control of Congress”), a Web phenomenon (“Best Site of 2006: ScienceBlogs), or anything else you like.

Post nominations in the comments, ideally in the form above: “Best [word] of 2006: [your nomination].” You can offer as many suggestions as you like, in as many categories as you like. Explanations and justifications of your choices are entirely optional.

(Credit or blame for this idea goes to Kate, who is, of course, the best Kate of 2006…)