1. Kim Kardashian married and then separated from Kris Humphries (after 72 days of marriage).
2. Jay Z and Kanye West dropped Watch the Throne.
3. Speaking of thrones, it was also when Season 1 of Game of Thrones first aired.
4. Everyone went crazy for the Missoni for Target...
...and Versace for H&M collabs.
5. Justin Bieber still had his signature bangs. He also released his concert film, Never Say Never.
6. The Biebs also lost the Best New Artist Grammy to Esperanza Spalding — whom the Beliebers immediately targeted online.
But Justin was among good company; Drake, Florence + the Machine, and Mumford & Sons also lost to Esperanza for Best New Artist.
7. Prince William married Kate Middleton...but all people seemed to talk about was his sister-in-law Pippa's bum.
8. The Muppets made their big comeback with The Muppets movie.
9. Instagram was still a brand-new app and they had just allowed users to insert hashtags.
10. Tebowing in photos was a thing...
11. ...as was Planking.
12. Katy Perry and Russell Brand separated after 14 months of marriage.
13. Amy Winehouse tragically died at the age of 27.
14. Charlie Sheen was fired from his TV series, Two and a Half Men, and then almost immediately launched his My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not An Option Tour.
15. We got also our very first peek at The Hunger Games when the teaser trailer dropped.
View this video on YouTube
16. Everybody shared the "Hipster Ariel" meme...
17. ...and the Nyan Cat video.
18. The final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, was the biggest movie of the year.
19. While Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 were among the top five grossing movies of the year.
20. Everybody was talking about The Artist (well mainly about Uggie the dog)...
21. ...and Bridesmaids.
22. X-Men First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Thor were all released.
All setting up their respective franchises.