In case you were thinking 2016 was really not that bad. Here are 60 reasons why it really was an awful year.
There's only so many dead celebs we can handle. 2016 was the year numerous pop culture icons passed away. Here are only a few of them.
1. George Michael
2. Prince
3. David Bowie
4. Carrie Fisher aka Princess Leia
5. Muhammad Ali
6. Gene Wilder
And then there were the SA stars who passed away this year.
7. Mandoza
8. Sfiso Ncwane
In 2016 the murkiness of SA politics was revealed.
9. Thuli Madonsela's State of Capture Report implicated some pretty high-ranking officials, including President Zuma.
10. Our Teflon president survived his fifth motion of no confidence since becoming SA president
11. The shambles at public broadcaster SABC
12. The ego of Hlaudi Motsoeneng is big enough to deserve its own spot on the list.
13. The mudslinging and ugliness of the local goverment elections campaign.
14. The number of councillor candidates killed before the local government elections.
15. The release of the Marikana Report and Riah Phiyega's culpability in the massacre
16. The fraud charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan
17 The beef between Ipid head Robert McBride and the Hawks
18. The weak opposition in Parliament
There were also many other South African stories that made us want to cry with outrage and frustration.
19. The Khwezi protest and her death
20. SA suffers worst drought in more than 20 years.
21. The violent clashes between police and protesting students
22. And still Fees Didn't Fall
23. The fact that more than 800 people have died on SA's roads since December 1.
24. Penny Sparrow, the coffin assault and other racist incidents
25. The many school bullying videos
26. The Doom Pastor and others giving religion a bad name.
27. The fatal flash floods in Joburg
28. The discrimination against black hair at SA schools
29. The Tokai murder
30. The murder and rape of 19-year-old Sinoxolo Mafevuka whose half-naked body was discovered in a toilet in Khayelitsha.
31. Paramedics under attack
32. The ongoing killing of innocent children and adults in gang crossfire on the Cape Flats.
33. The numerous cop killings across SA
The rest of the world didn't fare much better.
34. Syria
35. The video of the boy pulled from the rubble in Aleppo
36. The awfulness of the US election campaign.
37. Donald Trump being elected President of the United States.
38. Hillary Clinton's weak election campaign
39. ISIS attacks in Paris and Brussels
40. The Orlando nightclub massacre
41. The Zika virus
42. Brexit
43. Fidel Castro's death
44. The deaths of black people at the hands of US cops
A man protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department. File picture: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters
45. Harambe the gorilla being killed
46. The Bastille Day terrorist attack in Nice, France
47. Boy killed by alligator at happy place Disney World
48. The Istanbul airport attack
49. The Charleston church massacre
50. The church collapse in Nigeria that killed at least 160 people.
51. The coup in Turkey
There was also some sport drama:
52 The way Caster Semenya was talked about at the Olympics.
53. The Russian doping scandal
54. Lollygate
55. The Brazilian football team plane tragedy
56. The Springboks
And then there was these. Not tragic but ...
57. The accidents while playing Pokemon Go
Players look at their phones during a "Pokemon Go" event. The wildly popular game also made headlines for leading people into dangerous situations. File photo: Nati Harnik/AP
58. The ugly break-up of Brangelina
59. The drama surrounding SA shlebs. AKA, DJ Zinhle, Bonang. Boity and Cassper Nyovest.
60. Helen Zille's Twitter trolling