best of 2011

We haven’t heard anything from the TSA about how many actual terrorist plots it prevented in 2011. In fact, we have no real report on how much safer it was to fly around the country in 2011 because of the efforts of our favorite, invasive security agency. What we do have, though, is a list of the ridiculous things they have taken from Americans who dare to forget what they’ve been carrying in their carry-ons.

As consumers, we’re all used to being nickel-and-dimed to death with fees — from charges for checking a bag when we fly to charges to pay a bill online, we see them every day. They may be small, but they add up. And some were even more egregious than others in 2011.

Chris Trotman/Jamie Squire/Rob Carr/Christof Koepsel/Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images 2011 was a wild year in the world of sports. Sadly, much of the drama occurred off the field and left many of us vainly searching for an answer to the question, “How could they have let this happen?” But ...

Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images / Edwin Martinez1, Flickr / Scott Olson, Getty Images / Mario Tama, Getty Images Every year, Mother Nature likes to remind us who’s the boss and 2011 was no different. In fact, it was the second most expensive year on record for insurers, costing $108 billion ...

As 2011 comes to a close, Google Zeitgeist presents a video retrospective of the most-searched topics that made the year memorable.

Alex Wong, Getty Images / Handout, Getty Images / Apple / US Navy / John Moore, Getty Images 2011 can be tracked by its dramatic events, beginning with the Tuscon shooting that critically wounded US Rep. Gabby Giffords and continuing all the way up to the death of Muammar Gadhafi in October ...

Barbara Walters has named her Most Fascinating Person of 2011: Steve Jobs. While her policy has always been to choose only living people for the annual roundup, Walters said that when Jobs retired as CEO of Apple last summer, she knew he’d be her pick to top the list. And even after his death on October 5, Walters stuck to her choice because, much like Jobs believed, “rules were made to be broken.

Less than a week after winning the Heisman Trophy, Baylor junior standout Robert Griffin III was named the Sporting News’ player of the year. The quarterback helped revitalize the flailing Baylor college football program, and helped propel them to a 9-3 record this season.