Video: Head-Turning Moments of 2010

What qualifies as a head-turning moment? It’s…

Eye-catching, like Lady Gaga’s avant garde ensembles or a blue-skinned population that emerges to celebrate a 3D movie.

At times head-scratching, like, well, Lady Gaga’s avant garde ensembles, as well as like Bristol Palin’s determined run on “Dancing With the Stars,” or like a tentacled oracle with a World Cup specialty.

Often eyebrow-raising (OK, enough with Gaga), like the golf swing at Shady Canyon Golf Course that literally sparked a 25-acre fire in southern California, like a bat flung by New York Yankees’ Brett Gardner that accidentally cracked a $60,000 camera, or like a mis-aimed ball that makes for a bad Tiger Woods golf shot but a great photo shot — especially with that cigar-chomping costumed bystander in the background.

Sometimes head-spinning, like the comet that raced over Los Angeles, a city used to stars, or like the quarter-million people who gathered at a free comedy show on the National Mall for a sanity break.

And, if we’re lucky, heart-warming, like a royal engagement and a political dynasty’s wedding day.

To these head-turners, we raise our glass for a toast.

–Vera H-C Chan

Yahoo! Year in Review editorial lead for four years running, Senior Editor Vera H-C Chan dissects news events and search trends to share the why behind what’s hot on the Web.

The Yahoo! Year in Review videos are produced by the Original Video team at Yahoo! News. The executive producer is Anna Robertson, Emmy award-winning producer for “Good Morning America” and the current director of social media and original video at Yahoo! News.

Related links:
Video: Extreme Moments of 2010
Video: Inspiring Moments of 2010
Video: Top News Stories of 2010