Now is the time of year for all the periodicals across the land to cobble forth their year-end lists of all that year-related shit that happened this year. For example, Highlights: Fun With a Purpose will release a list of "The 26 Most Essential Letters of the Alphabet of 2013." Likewise, The Daily Mail will publish "The 26 Most Important Letters of the Alphabet of 2013," because they'll have simply copy-pasted Highlights, as The Daily Mail knows its audience.

Children's Television Workshop

"No. 10: The Letter O. Very important. You can barely speak English without it."

But here at Cracked Dot Com, you'll find no such mealy-mouthed nostalgia. We have no desire to bowdlerize for the last 365 days, during which you almost assuredly roared out somewhere between 365 and 1,460 bowel movements (because you're a goddamn beast, reader). No, we're going to let you in on a dark truth: 2013 WAS JUST 1996 IN DISGUISE. (Although we initially mistook 2013 for 1986, after confusing Kanye West's "Bound 2" with the end credits to Pee-wee's Playhouse.)