10 Things That Defined 2010

young supporter of the Netherlands blows a vuvuzela outside Soccer City stadium in Soweto, in suburban Johannesburg ahead of the 2010 World Cup football final between the Netherlands and Spain on July 11, 2010. AFP PHOTO / PABALLO THEKISO (Photo credit s — AP Photo

A young supporter of the Netherlands blows a vuvuzela outside Soccer City stadium in Soweto, in suburban Johannesburg ahead of the 2010 World Cup football final between the Netherlands and Spain on July 11, 2010. The sometimes annoying plastic trumpets became an instant symbol of this year's World Cup challenge.

PICTURES: World Cup Semifinals

Containment Dome

In this image taken from video, the containment cap that had previously been covering the well head at the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico, is lifted above the gushing leak on Saturday, July 10, 2010. The so-called containment dome was an unsuccessful short-term effort to cap the worst oil spill in history.

SPECIAL SECTION: Disaster in the Gulf

Lady Gaga's Meat Dress

Lady Gaga wears her controversial meat dress, as she arrives in the Press Room after winning eight 2010 MTV Video Music Awards including 'Video of the Year' at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Sepetember 12, 2010. AFP PHOTO / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit — MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

Lady Gaga wears her controversial meat dress as she arrives in the Press Room after her winning night at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year, at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, 2010. The dress has been spoofed non-stop since the ceremony.

Lady Gaga's Meat Dress Sizzles

Facebook

The Facebook homepage is seen on a computer screen in Washington on Nov. 9, 2010. The social networking site grew so popular this year that Time magazine named its founder Mark Zuckerberg as the magazine's Person of the Year. And "The Social Network," a film about Facebook's founding, is on target to pick up some Oscars this year.

"60 Minutes": Time's Person of the Year

Full Body Scanners

: CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 15: Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents Leigh Bauman (L) and Robin Blum demonstrate a full body scanner at Midway Airport December 15, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. TSA began using the new scanners at the airport for — AP

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents Leigh Bauman, left, and Robin Blum demonstrate a full body scanner at Midway Airport on Dec. 15, 2010, in Chicago. TSA began using the new scanners at U.S. airports this fall and those who refuse to go through them, because of the graphic images they create, get full-body patdowns by TSA agents, an equally distasteful option.

Poll: New TSA Measures

Islamic Center Near Ground Zero

The three-word phrase - Ground Zero Mosque - has the dubious distinction of being inaccurate not once but twice. The project is not actually planned for Ground Zero; it's planned to go up two blocks away, without even a view of the former site of the Twin Towers.

And it's not, strictly speaking, a mosque; it's an Islamic cultural center that includes a swimming pool, basketball court, restaurant and a prayer room.

But for all its inaccuracies, the term was used to to fuel protest and debate across America this year.

The Man Behind the Mosque
PICTURES: Most Loaded Phrases in Politics

The Tea Party

Tea Party, a grass roots political movement that started in 2009, came into its own in 2010 when many of its candidates defeated Republicans in primary elections. Its agenda is conservative and libertarian and its spokesperson is former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Will Tea Party Play Ball?

Wikileaks

The four-year-old international Internet entity that accepts classified documents from anonymous news sources and publishes them online drew the ire of the American government this year when it published documents about the War in Afghanistan in July, the war in Iraq in October and U.S. diplomatic cables in November.

SPECIAL REPORT: Wikileaks

Computer Toner Cartridges

AP Photo/Dubai Police via Emirates News Agency,

This undated file photo released by the Dubai Police via the state Emirates News Agency on Oct. 30, 2010, claims to show parts of a computer printer with explosives loaded into its toner cartridge found in a package onboard a cargo plane coming from Yemen, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Similar cartridges were found at East Midlands Airport in the U.K. Both packages were destined for Chicago. The incidents highlighted the threat of unscreened airline cargo.

Cargo Flights Lack Screening
PICTURES: Terror in the Air

Royal Engagement Ring

Once belonging to Diana, Princess of Wales, this sapphire and diamond engagement ring now graces the finger of Prince William's fiancee, Kate Middleton. The young prince, who plans to marry April 29, 2011, says he gave Middleton the same ring his father gave his mother as a way to involve his late mother in the wedding plans.

SPECIAL SECTION: The Royal Wedding