To be fifteen in America in 2006 was to have “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley everywhere, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on every screen, and American Idol on after school. That year, gas cost $2.59 and the Nintendo Wii was the new thing. Born in 1991? You turned 15 in 2006 — a teenager from 2004 to 2010, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.
Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.
The inescapable, genre-melting smash of 2006 — the first song ever to hit #1 in the UK on downloads alone. Cee-Lo's soaring 'I remember when, I remember' over Danger Mouse's spaghetti-western swell was on every iPod and every channel. It defines the year far better than the novelty AC year-end #1.
the year-end #1 was Bad Day — Daniel Powter.
the movies you are watching in 2006
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Cars
Casino Royale
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Da Vinci Code
the tv shows you are binging in 2006
American Idol
Grey's Anatomy
Desperate Housewives
House
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
the games you are playing in 2006
New Super Mario Bros.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii Sports
Mario Kart DS
Guitar Hero II
Gears of War
what things cost in 2006
What things cost in 2006
a first-class stamp
39¢
a gallon of gas
$2.59
a movie ticket
$6.55
minimum wage
$5.15/hr
the average income
$48,201
trending this year
Reza Almanda, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)Nintendo WiiNo attribution required (CC0 1.0). Source: Open Clip Art Library via Wikimedia Commons.PlayStation 3Jesse Achtenberg / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (public domain)TwitterWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_YouTube_(2005-2017).svg · Public domainYouTubeDenisgrim, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Borat
the gadgets you just got
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony-PlayStation-3-CECHA01-Console-FL.jpg · Public DomainPlayStation 3 (launch)Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wii-console.jpg · Public DomainNintendo Wii (launch)Photo by Raimond Spekking (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Motorola_RAZR_V3-4899.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Motorola RAZR V3Tomasz Sienicki (Tsca), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)Microsoft Zune (1st gen)Tomasz Sienicki (Tsca), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)iPod nano (2nd gen, aluminum)
what everyone is snacking on
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media), public domainLay's Stax (Pringles rival)Quant, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pringles_Chip.jpg) · CC BY-SA 3.0PringlesTony Branston, originally on Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hot_Pocket_Cooked.jpg) · CC BY-SA 2.0Hot PocketsEvan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Pop-Tartsannulla, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsCheetos
what everyone is drinking
Josh Hallett (Flickr), via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coca-Cola_Blak_bottle.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0Coca-Cola BlāK (coffee soda)VincentLR, Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lattina_di_Red_Bull.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0Red BullBxxiaolin, edited by Pittigrilli, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Can_of_Monster_Energy_drink_sold_in_China_(0.33_l),_on_white_background.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Monster EnergyMy100cans, via Wikimedia Commons (released to public domain) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vaultsoda.JPGVault (Coca-Cola)Cary Ford, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rockstar_Energy_Drink.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Rockstar Energy
what made the news in 2006
Saddam Hussein is convicted of crimes against humanity and executed by hanging in Iraq
North Korea conducts its first underground nuclear weapons test
Italy beats France on penalties in the World Cup final after Zidane's headbutt
Pluto is reclassified from a planet to a dwarf planet
U.S. Department of Defense (public domain). Via Wikimedia Commons. · Public Domain (work of U.S. Department of Defense employee, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105)Saddam Hussein executed in IraqPhoto by Twitter (via GitHub contributors) (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Twitter_bird_logo.svg · CC BY-SA 4.0Twitter launches; YouTube bought by Google for $1.65BNASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Alex Parker (public domain). Via Wikimedia Commons. · Public Domain (NASA; NASA imagery not protected by copyright)Pluto demoted to 'dwarf planet' by IAUU.S. Navy (photo 80-G-396226), public domain via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (U.S. Navy work of the U.S. federal government)North Korea conducts first nuclear testThingstodoeverywhere, via Wikimedia Commons · CC0Democrats win control of US Congress in midterms
what everyone is saying
"Truthiness"Coined by Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report; named 2006 Word of the Year
"Stay classy, San Diego"Anchorman catchphrase ubiquitous in mid-2000s
"Very nice! / High five!"From the 2006 Borat film by Sacha Baron Cohen
"I have had it with these snakes on this plane!"Iconic line from the 2006 film Snakes on a Plane, an early internet meme
"Dunder Mifflin / That's what she said"The Office (US) catchphrase surging in mid-2000s
