2006: how will you remember it? Will it be Zidane, with his subtle techniques in European diplomacy, or Borat who won box office fans, but found his own brand of diplomatic flair didn't go down so well in Kazakhstan! Big Brother dominated the year yet again, but will we still remember Pete Burns at the end of 2007? Either way 2006 proves everyone loves a real life soap story: what's next for Heather Mills McCartney?

This year's Female celebs category is a glorious mix of UK A-listers and international superstars. Despite Keira Knightley having a great 2006 at the box office, and Katie Holmes' recent wedding they did not make the top spot. Instead a girl who found her man (Chantelle Houghton) and a woman trying to lose hers (Heather Mills McCartney) are our 2006 female showbiz superstars.

O Big Brother where art thou? Top of the male celebrities chart, that's where. From new found celeb status (Pete Bennet) to status-revisited (Dennis Rodman, Pete Burns), reality TV dominates. Elsewhere David Blaine and Richard Hammond's stunts keep them searched for. Good old Robbie Williams sneaks in at the bottom to prop up 2006.

As the decade rolls on, many commentators have predicted the downfall of reality TV, but our results prove them wrong. From Celebrity Fit Club to Soapstar Superstar, you searched for it high and low in 2006. Soccer Aid and Only Fools and Horses also made the list, but as the celebrity categories will attest there's only one TV programme that matters: Big Brother.

It's been a big year for sport and our jam-packed top 10 sport searches reflects this. The Manchester United Cristiano Ronaldo had an "eventful" world cup summer before rumours linked him with a possible move to Real Madrid, the search term that beats him in our top ten. Zidane made an interesting career move using an Italian defender but even this didn't secure him the top search spot! This was reserved for the World Cup itself.

In truth the tragic death of Steve Irwin, in such unlikely circumstances, could have had its very own Top Searches category, such was the burst of interest in sting rays and the Australian crocodile tamer. Elsewhere Richard Hammond's crash moved him into the top 5, closely followed by the 2006 Budget just behind. But it seems you just can't get enough info on your ancestors, as the 1901 census comes in at number ten.

Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Ice Age 2, Mission Impossible 3, Spider-Man 3 and X-Men 3: quite clearly 2006 was the year of the remake. It also had quite a strong animal theme (snakes, spiders and erm, chickens...). But one man, prone to highly unflattering Lycra and a dodgy 'tache dominated the year. All hail Borat.

Well who would have thought it - Take That make our 2006 music top 10 and Robbie doesn't get a look in! Instead his reformed ex-bandmates sneak in above Justin "I'm bringing sexy back" Timberlake. But 2006 saw TV making and breaking pop stars with The Ordinary Boys (Big Brother) and Lordi (Eurovision) coming top of our searches.

No two year's Bizarre Searches are the same, and 2006 is no exception. Pokemon Crater and Heelys sneak in as winning searches for kids. Sheilas' Wheels turns out to be an insurance company. The Domesday Book, despite being written just under a thousand years ago, features highly in our 2006 Bizarre section. The Orgasmatron is, in fact, a head massager. But as for the popularity of the top bizarre searches Wedding magician Kent, Duck Bridge Danby and Tow vehicle in Essex? Who can say what made them so massive in 2006? That's bizarre for you...

It's been a big year for Yahoo! Answers, so no surprise that celebrities wanted to get in on the action. From rock legend Bono to indie gods Keane, comeback rapper Jay-Z to Dr Stephen Hawking, everyone had amazing questions to ask. But the question that got more responses than any other on Answers ever, was Oprah's "If you were given a thousand dollars to change the life of a perfect stranger, what would you do?" Over 37,000 of you gave your thoughts to this most worthy question.

2006 is definitely the year of the video and our top ten contains some real gems. The Trunk Monkey is clearly the must-have present for every kid this Christmas. Whereas the Bin Shot clip defies belief, and base jumping defies sanity and gravity. Plus our Dog Ridin' Dirty is possibly the most stylish terrier ever. But the most searched for video for 2006, by over 870,000 Yahoo! users, shows some quite mesmerising skills with the bones: Skeleton Man Street Performer!

Top Searches isn’t just a UK and Ireland thing, it’s a global phenomenon. Check our sister sites showing what was spiking all over the world.