Alongside political, environmental, criminal and sporting news, a whole host of other events take place throughout the year that don’t slot quite so easily into a specific category.
This year was no exception, with bizarre stories ranging from a fear of peas to a Geordie waking up with a Jamaican accent. Here is our pick of some of the more obscure stories of 2006:
The year in review on MSN News
The year in review on MSN News
A look back at the year in which an 18-foot whale swam up the Thames and £800 million was spent on Christmas decorations.
Test your current affairs knowledge with our 2006 news quiz. You'll need to answer 20 questions from our trivia database to stand a chance of making the leader board.
"The point now is how do we work together to achieve important goals. And one such goal is a democracy in Germany."
The year in pictures is our selection of the most striking and iconic images of 2006, taking in conflict zones, wonders of nature, sporting heroes, and the lives of ordinary people.
2006 was a year of highs and lows for famous faces across the globe. Find out who came out on top and who plumbed the depths in our round-up of the year's winners and losers.