What Happened in 2006 inc.- Significant Events, Prices, Top Movies, TV and Music (2023)

Nintendo Releases Wii Gaming Console

Nintendo releases the Wii gaming console in the United States during November. The console was originally priced at $249.99 and was the smallest and most lightweight of Nintendo’s home consoles at the time of its release. Despite not having HD graphics, the Wii was incredibly popular when it was released and over time it outperformed its direct competition, the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The Wii attracted a wide array of users and appealed to more casual gamers. It was praised for its innovative and futuristic design which incorporated more physical activity into game play with the use of a motion-tracking controller.

United Kingdom - Apple Computer Lawsuit

1. A British court rules in favor of the Apple Computer Company during May, concluding nearly 30 years of trademark disputes between the computer giant and Apple Corps.

2. Apple Corps was created in 1968 by the members of the Beatles as a multimedia and record company.

3. Apple Computers was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

4. Trademark lawsuits began between the two starting in 1978 over the use of the name “Apple,” the apple-shaped logo, and Apple Computers foray into the music business with the creation of iTunes and the iPod.

5. The judge ruled Apple Computers had not infringed on the Apple Corps trademark and in 2007 the computer company bought out all of the Apple trademarks in a settlement.

Google Buys YouTube

Google purchases YouTube for US$1.65 billion in stock.

More Information for YouTube Purchase

Internet giant Google bought the popular video-sharing website YouTube during October of 2006. Google bought the website for $1.65 billion through a stock purchase which was approved during the following month. At the time of the deal YouTube had about 65 employees and had become one of the fastest growing and most popular websites on the internet despite having only been established in the Spring of 2005.

New Horizons probe

NASA launches the New Horizons probe.

NASA launches the New Horizons space probe mission to Pluto during January of 2006. The New Horizons probe was launched successfully from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The mission made a visit to Jupiter in 2007 while traveling towards Pluto where it gathered some information about Jupiter and its moons before receiving a gravity assist from the large planet and resuming its journey. The probe made it to Pluto during July of 2015 when it became the first mission to explore the dwarf planet and its moons, as well as taking some of the first high resolution images of Pluto. The probe then adjusted its course towards the “Kuiper belt object” which the New Horizons mission is expected to reach, research, and explore by 2019.

Oil shale reserves

The US Energy department has released a report that there are about a trillion barrels worth of oil in the form of Oil shale reserves in the Green River basin.

More Information and Timeline for Oil Shale Report

The U.S. Energy department releases a report saying that the state of Colorado is sitting on about a trillion barrels worth of oil in the form of oil shale reserves in the Green River Basin, which covers portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. About 70% of this resource is located on federally owned or managed land and it equals nearly as much as the rest of the world's conventional oil reserves added together. The problem with oil shale reserves is that the cost of extraction and the environmental impact due to the process required to turn oil shale into oil are too expensive and risky to make the process worthwhile. As the price of oil continues to increase, the desire to extract oil from oil shale will also increase as fossil fuels become scarcer.

Venus Express

The ESA's Venus Express arrives at Venus.

More Information for the Venus Express

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Venus Express orbiter arrived at Venus in April of 2006. The Venus Express had been launched during the previous year with the mission objectives to study the atmospheric activities, plasma environment, surface activities, greenhouse gas effects, magnetic field, and solar wind interaction of the solar system’s second planet. The Venus Express was successful in completing its objectives and made several new discoveries about the planet such as the existence of a cold atmospheric region that could make carbon dioxide freeze into ice or snow. The mission was expected to last 2 days on Venus, equivalent to about 486 Earth days, but the orbiter kept functioning until late 2014 when the ESA lost contact.

Sago Mine Disaster

Twelve coal miners die in the Sago Mine Disaster near Buckhannon, West Virginia in the United States.

Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia

A stampede during the Stoning of the devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 362 Muslim pilgrims.

European Union

Several European newspapers reprint controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, sparking outrage and rioting in the following weeks

Iran refuses access to U.N. inspectors

Iran refuses access to U.N. inspectors many worry over Iran's intent to build a nuclear bomb

Iran Tests Missiles

Iran Tests Missiles which are capable of reaching Israel

Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The Iranian Leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust ever existed.

Iraq Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein is charged on May 15th and following the trial is found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging

Iraq Ramadan

Violence errupts during the holy month of Ramadan between Shia and Sunni Muslims leaving many dead on both sides.

Amish West Nickel Miles School

Charles Carl Roberts murders four girls in a one room Amish West Nickel Miles School, before committing suicide

September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks

Zacarias Moussaoui convicted of conspiring to kill Americans as part of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,

Nueva Rosita, Mexico Mine Explosion

Sixty-five miners become trapped underground after an explosion in a mine Nueva Rosita, Mexico There were no survivors.

Australia Cyclone Larry

Tropical Cyclone Larry makes landfall in Queensland, Australia

Australia temp hits 45 degrees Celsius

Sydney, Australia temp hits 45 degrees Celsius ( 113 degrees Centigrade )

India bombings

Over 160 people are killed on July 11th by seven bombs on the train network in Mumbai India

India Terrorists bombing

Terrorists bomb Muslim Graveyard in Malegaon, during Shab-e-Barat killing 37

Indonesia Tsunami

Tsunami strikes the Indonesian island of Java killing 300

Escalation of violence in Middle East

Capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas Israel Bombs Lebenon and escalation of violence in Middle East

North Korea first test of a nuclear weapon

North Korea declares it has carried out its first test of a nuclear weapon, becoming the worlds 9th Nuclear Power

North Korea Medium Range Missiles

North Korea Test Medium Range Missiles

Heatwave

Heatwave affects US and Europe in July

Easter Week Midwest Tornado Outbreak

The Easter Week Midwest Tornado Outbreak affecting Iowa, Indiana, Missouri and other US states . Iowa City takes a direct hit from a tornado.

Israel Ariel Sharon

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's suffers a stroke and suffers from a persistent vegetative state.

trillion barrels worth of oil

The US Energy department has released a report that there are about a trillion barrels worth of oil in the form of Oil shale reserves in the Green River basin,