Political upheaval and an overwhelming desire for change made 2016 the year of the unexpected.
A groundswell of support for leaders promising to shake up the status-quo became a defining theme of 2016.
The United Kingdom got the ball rolling by voting to leave the European Union in a shock referendum result.
David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister shortly after.
"The British people have made a very clear decision to take a different path and as such I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction. I will do everything that I can as Prime Minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months."
While campaigning as the Republican Presidential Nominee, Donald Trump warned of a similar upset in the United States election.
"This is going to be Brexit plus, Brexit plus."
Many political commentators, the media and politicians didn't think the controversy-prone business mogul could win.
During one of three live-televised debates, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton criticised his relationship with women.
"This is a man who has called women pigs, slobs and dogs and someone who has said pregnancy is an inconvenience to employers."
But sure enough, after securing votes in a swathe of crucial states, Mr Trump won, addressing his supporters at a rally in New York City.
"We're going to get to work immediately for the American people. We're going to be doing a job that hopefully you'll be so proud of your President, you'll be so proud."
And there were political upsets elsewhere in the world.
Brazil's first female president, Dilma Rousseff, was thrown out of office by the country's senate after a gruelling impeachment trial.
Ms Rousseff remained defiant throughout the trial, declaring her innocence in August.
"I am going to look directly in the eyes of Your Excellencies. I will say with the serenity of someone who has nothing to hide that I haven't committed any crime against the budget and these accusations are unfair."
Here in Australia, an eight-week election campaign was described as the most boring in living memory.
Malcolm Turnbull's double-dissolution election, hoped to strengthen his government's representation in the parliament, backfired - with the Coalition barely forming a minority government.
The Prime Minister did not feel his campaign was at fault.
"The Labor party ran some of the most systematic well-funded lies ever peddled in Australian politics."
Overseas, acts of terror continued to change the lives of innocent people during 2016.
Gunmen armed with automatic weapons and explosive belts staged an horrific attack at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport in June.
One witness described the carnage.
"When I was in there, people were shooting on one side and we all ran the otherway, and then the bombs went off. People started running the other way and there was more shooting."
Horrific scenes unfolded in Nice on Bastille Day when 84 people were mowed down by a truck while watching a fireworks display.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls described it as a terrorist attack.
"We are at war. Terrorists are at war against us and their goal is fear and panic."
And in Orlando, a shooting at a nightclub killed 49 people, prompting calls for restrictions on buying guns in the US.
Meanwhile ...
"The smash hit mobile game ap Pokemon Go has only been out for a few days but it's already got millions following their smartphones to the most random places."
Mobile phone app Pokemon Go was unleashed onto the public in July.
It's since declined from a peak of 27 million daily downloads, to 700,000.
And Earthlings looked to the sky to observe the Supermoon.
Professor of Astrophysics Tom Marsh explained the phenomenon to the BBC.
"The next one is 2034 and the previous time it was very close was 1948 so it's not very common but it's the coincidence of the close approach and the full moon that distinguishes this one."
In sport, Rio fulfilled its hosting duties for the 31st Olympiad, despite concerns about the spread of the mosquito-borne zika virus.
And the Chicago Cubs took out the Baseball world series for the first time in 108 years - prompting jubilation among long-suffering fans around the world.
Natural disasters wreaked havoc throughout the year.
Towns and villages were rocked by tremors in central Italy where 300 people were killed by a quake in August.
Cyclone Winston wiped out entire villages across many remote islands in Fiji in March, killing 40 people.
Torrential rain and floods disrupted travel across the United Kingdom and at least five people died when waters rose in Germany and France in June.
In the arts world, revered United States songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first songwriter ever to win it.
The unexpected choice drew some criticism but the Swedish Academy said the 75 year-old was selected for the honour because of his poetic expressions.
Permanent Secretary Sara Danius explained the decision.
"He is a great poet. He is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition, and he is a wonderful sampler, a very original sampler."
2016 also farewelled many musicians, actors and writers.
Music legend David Bowie and the iconic Prince passed away this year.
So did actor Alan Rickman, famous for his role in Harry Potter, along with the original Willy Wonka, actor Gene Wilder.
The author of How to Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee, passed away after selling millions of copies of her debut novel.
And in November singer songwriter Leonard Cohen departed.
War continued to rage in Iraq and Syria, killing and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
In December, the final battle for Aleppo drew worldwide condemnation.
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, voiced her anger and disbelief at the countries that had permitted the suffering of so many.
"Aleppo will join the ranks of those events in world history that define modern evil, that stain our conscience decades later. Rwanda, Srebrenica. And now Aleppo."
