A beauty pageant, a state dinner, the Appalachian Trail, a golf club, a funny-looking balloon -- plus a bunch of kids. All of that sounds downright wholesome.
Mix them together, stir in too much reality TV and a couple of sex tapes, and you get the uniquely spicy concoction that is the 2009 edition of the year's biggest scandals.
Also on Sphere: Year's Dumbest Criminal Suspects | Weirdest Stories | Notable Deaths
More from Time: Apologies of the Year | The Top 10 Everything of 2009








