The Year 2016 in Review: 100+ Fun Facts and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a mix of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 2016. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, retail prices, top food trends, popular baby names, and much more.

Take a journey through history in just minutes.

1. Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, and Joe Biden was the nation’s 47th vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.7 percent during the fourth quarter, and the nation’s inflation rate for the year was 1.26 percent.
3. Consumer Price Index (CPI): 240.007
4. $1.00 in 2016 is equivalent in purchasing power to $1.36 in 2026, which means that today's prices are 1.36 times higher than prices were in 2016. To put it another way, a dollar buys an estimated 73.529% of what it could purchase back in 1995.
5. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Americans paid an estimated $15 billion in bank overdraft and non-sufficient funds (NSF) charges during 2016, an increase of 2.2% over 2015.
6. The average American household had $16,061 in credit card debt. The average interest rate on credit cards was 18.76 percent, and the average household paid a total of $1,292 in credit card interest.
7. The average total household debt in the U.S., including mortgages, was $132,529.
8. At the grocery store, Ragu pasta sauce cost $3.69 for a 45-ounce jar, San Giorgio pasta was $1.49 for a 12-ounce box, and bananas were 49 cents a pound.
9. A 2016 Volkswagen Passat cost $22,440, a 2016 Honda Accord was $22,105, and a 2016 Nissan Sentra S retailed for $19,035.
10. An HP Pavilion laptop cost $499, a Brother wireless printer was $49.99, and a 32” Samsung smart TV retailed for $329.
11. A Frigidaire refrigerator cost $1,099, a KitchenAid mixer was $279.99, and a programmable Mr. Coffee coffee maker retailed for $19.99.
12. Nobel Peace Prize: Juan Manuel Santos (Colombia)
13. Nobel Prize in Economics: Oliver Hart (U.K./U.S.) and Bengt Holmstrom (Finland/U.S.)
14. Nobel Prize in Literature: Bob Dylan (U.S.)
15. Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Jointly to Jean-Pierre Sauvage (France), Sir J. Fraser Stoddart (U.K.), and Bernard L. Feringa (Netherlands)
16. Nobel Prize in Physics: Jointly to David J. Thouless (U.K.), F. Duncan M. Haldane (U.K.), and J. Michael Kosterlitz (U.K.)
17. Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: Yoshinori Ohsumi (Japan)
18. At the 58th Grammy Awards on February 15, Uptown Funk won a Grammy for Record of the Year, Thinking Out Loud won an award for Song of the Year, and 1989 won an award for Album of the Year.
19. At the 88th Academy Awards on February 28, Spotlight won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant) won an Oscar for Best Director. Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Brie Larson (Room) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
20. On March 20, President Obama arrived in Cuba and became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the country in 88 years.
21. On April 8, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed its 2016 inductees: Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple, NWA, and Steve Miller.
22. On April 18, Alissa Rubin of the New York Times received a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting.
23. On April 18, Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker magazine received a Pulitzer Prize for criticism.
24. On April 18, the Associated Press received a Pulitzer Prize for public service.
25. On April 18, the Los Angeles Times staff received a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.
26. On April 18, the Washington Post staff received a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.
27. On April 20, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that political activist Harriet Tubman would replace former U.S. President Andrew Jackson on the face of the $20 bill.
28. On April 21, Prince, “the virtuosic musician who created more than 30 albums and won seven Grammy Awards over a 40-year career,” was found dead in Paisley Park, “his Minnesota home and recording studio. The cause of death was an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl.”
29. On April 22, a record-setting 175 countries, including the United States, signed the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement at the United Nations in New York. History.com tells us that “The agreement’s goal was to keep the global average temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by dramatically reducing carbon emissions.”
30. On May 1, after more than 50 years, a U.S. cruise ship set sail for Cuba. According to the BBC, the Adonia departed from Miami with around 700 passengers on board, and “Cubans waved as the ship arrived in Havana.”
31. On June 7, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play written by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, premiered in London.
32. June 12: In Orlando, Florida, a gunman forced his way into the Pulse nightclub and “opened fire on the predominantly gay crowd. In the end, 49 people were dead and dozens more injured.” At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
33. On June 12, the musical Hamilton won 11 Tony Awards after receiving 16 nominations.
34. On June 23, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The UK’s historic Brexit vote—51.89% in favor of leaving the EU and 48.11% against—triggered British Prime Minister David Cameron to resign on June 24.
35. On June 30, the IKEA Museum opened to the public in Älmhult, Sweden. According to the BBC, “The museum is located on the site where founder Ingvar Kamprad opened the first store in 1958.”
36. On July 21, the temperature reached 129.2°F in Mitribah, Kuwait, “setting the record for the warmest temperature ever recorded outside of California’s Death Valley.”
37. On August 11, scientists discovered that a 392-year-old Greenland shark was the longest-living vertebrate animal in the world.
38. September 4: Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun who dedicated her life “to caring for the destitute in India,” officially became Saint Teresa of Calcutta, “almost two decades after her death on September 5, 1997.”
39. At the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 18, Veep (HBO) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and the fantasy drama Game of Thrones (HBO) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
40. On November 2, the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series since 1908 by defeating the Cleveland Indians, 8-7.
41. On November 8, Republican Donald Trump was elected as president of the United States by defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump lost the popular vote to Clinton by more than 2.8 million votes but received 304 electoral votes to Clinton’s 227.
42. In 2016, the UK and Iceland experienced a 62-foot-high wave, the highest ever recorded on planet Earth.
43. Popeyes had 2,688 restaurants worldwide, which included 159 new locations.
44. 76% of American households had a smartphone.
45. 77% of American households had a desktop or laptop computer.
46. A small percentage of American households had smartphones “but no other type of computer for connecting to the Internet. These ‘smartphone only’ households were more likely to be low income.”
47. Most common password for online accounts: “123456”
48. Captain America: War, Rogue One: A Star Wars Movie, and Finding Dory were the highest-grossing films in 2016.
49. Most-watched television shows: The Big Bang Theory (CBS), NCIS (CBS), and NBC Sunday Night Football (NBC)
50. Most popular song: Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself
51. In 2016, journalist Bill O’Reilly (Fox) had the top cable news show in terms of total viewers. Megyn Kelly (Fox) and Rachel Maddow (MSNBC) followed him in popularity.
52. At the 2016 NAB Marconi Radio Awards, WINS-AM (New York, NY) won an award for Legendary Station of the Year, WTOP-FM (Washington, DC) won an award for News/Talk Station of the Year, and KKBQ-FM (Houston) won an award for Country Station of the Year.
53. Popular baby names in 2016 were Ava, Emma, Isabella, Olivia, Sophia, James, Liam, Mason, Noah, and William.
54. Top American food and beverage trends included Starbucks pink drink, crazy donuts, sushirittos, bagel sandwiches, cauliflower, and Dunkaroos.
55. In 2016 as well, the words “cancel culture,” “dark kitchen,” “MAGA,” “touch grass,” “tradwife,” “utility token,” and “zaddy” all appeared in print for the first time.
56. Boston Marathon winners: Lemi Berhanu (men’s race) and Atsede Baysa (women’s race)
57. Kentucky Derby winner: Nyquist
58. Indianapolis 500 winner: Alexander Rossi
59. NBA champions: Golden State Warriors
60. NCAA basketball champions: Villanova University
61. NCAA football champs: Clemson
62. Stanley Cup champs: Pittsburgh Penguins
63. Super Bowl champions: Denver Broncos
64. U.S. Open Golf winner: Dustin Johnson
65. Finally, the cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad was $5,400,000.

References:

1. https://uk.usembassy.gov/presidents-of-the-united-states/
2. https://www.history.com/articles/joe-biden
3. https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/unemployment-holds-steady-for-much-of-2016-but-edges-down-in-fourth-quarter.htm
4. https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2016?amount=1
5. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/data-spotlight-consumer-experiences-with-overdraft-programs/full-report/
6. https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/13/us-households-now-have-over-16k-in-credit-card-debt.html
7. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Morris-County-Library-Reference-Guides/Historic-Prices/Historic-Prices-2010s/Historic-Prices-2016
8. https://www.infoplease.com/awards/nobel/2016-nobel-prize-winners
9. https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/grammy-awards-2016-full-winners-list-6875260/
10. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2016
11. https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/2016
12. https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction-2016/
13. https://www.pulitzer.org/article/2016-pulitzer-prizes
14. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/treasurys-lew-to-announce-hamilton-to-stay-on-10-bill-222204
15. https://www.history.com/a-year-in-history/2016
16. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4/paris-climate-agreement-comes-into-effect
17. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36183192
18. https://www.npr.org/2016/06/13/481828952/hamilton-wins-11-tonys-out-of-its-16-nominations
19. https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/24/europe/uk-eu-referendum-results
20. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36671489
21. https://time.com/4418816/heat-wave-middle-east-temperature-record/
22. https://www.televisionacademy.com/awards/nominees-winners/2016/outstanding-comedy-series
23. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-3/sports-curses-chicago-cubs-world-series
24. https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/president
25. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38312935
26. https://www.franchising.com/news/20170110_popeyes_louisiana_kitchen_inc_reports_preliminary_.html
27. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2018/acs/ACS-39.pdf
28. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2025/11/18/most-common-passwords-online-internet-admin-12345/873212110
29. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/2016/
30. https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2016/tops-of-2016-tv/
31. https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/davfaithid/list/336054/billboard-year-end-hot-100-singles-of-2016/
32. https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/the-top-cable-news-programs-of-2016-were/
33. https://www.nab.org/documents/events/awards/marconiAwards/2016Winners.asp
34. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/state/top5_2016.htm
35. https://spoonuniversity.com/school/denison/biggest-food-trends-2016/
36. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/2015
37. https://popculturemadness.com/2016-trivia-fun-facts-history/
38. https://www.superbowl-ads.com/cost-of-super-bowl-advertising-breakdown-by-year/

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor