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10 Tech Talkers That Made Us Laugh and Think in 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, here's a look at some of the top tech talkers - both the sweet and the sour - that helped encapsulate the year in tech.
Image: Elon Musk speaks during the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara
SpaceX founder Elon Musk speaks during the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.Refugio Ruiz / AP

Ah, 2016. You were a vindictive, nasty year marred by fake news, mean people, and countless hacks. But for all the bad, there were some heartwarming and hilarious spots in the world of tech.

As the year draws to a close, here's a look at some of the top tech talkers - both the sweet and the sour - that helped encapsulate the year in technology.

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Nick Denton, founder of Gawker Media, speaks at a conference in New York.Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images

"Your revenge has been served well, cold and (until now) anonymously.” - Nick Denton, founder of Gawker

Nick Denton penned a letter to Peter Thiel after the PayPal billionaire was revealed to be financing the Hulk Hogan sex tape lawsuit against the Gawker website.

Thiel explained his motivation for going after the popular, snarky site in a New York Times editorial, writing, "As an internet entrepreneur myself, I feel partly responsible for a world in which private information can be instantly broadcast to the whole planet. I also know what it feels like to have one’s own privacy violated."

Thiel's side ultimately won. Gawker's assets were sold to Univision and the flagship site was shuttered.

Image: Elon Musk speaks during the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara
SpaceX founder Elon Musk speaks during the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.Refugio Ruiz / AP

“I really don’t have any other motivation for personally accumulating assets, except to be able to make the biggest contribution I can to making life multi-planetary.” - Elon Musk

Thiel's old PayPal friend Elon Musk finally revealed his master plan in September for how he wants to help colonize Mars.

"I've always considered myself one of the top women in the world, so I would say this shows excellent judgement on his part.” - Caity Weaver, upon hearing that she was the only woman Elon Musk followed on Twitter

GQ reporter and former Gawker star Caity Weaver was, for a brief time, the only woman in the world Musk followed. It appears he's since hit the unfollow button. The follow came around the same time a Motherboard analysis of Musk's Twitter account revealed he didn't follow any women. (Musk said he only follows news organizations and has an equal balance of the sexes on Instagram.)

"I thought it was either a wrong number or my grandma learned how to use a phone correctly." - Jamal Hinton, who was accidentally invited to Thanksgiving dinner

High school student Hinton was accidentally invited to Thanksgiving dinner by someone else’s grandma via text message. As promised, Grandma Wanda still saved him a plate and the two dined together on Thanksgiving.

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NASA astronaut Scott Kelly speaks during a meeting with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Oct. 21.SAUL LOEB / AFP/Getty Images

"Records are meant to be broken... I am looking forward to when these records in space are surpassed.” - astronaut Scott Kelly

Kelly, who came back to Earth in March after a year in space, announced his retirement and said he hoped future space travelers would beat his record-breaking stay.

Related: Astronaut Scott Kelly Retiring After a Year in Space

Image: Donald Trump
President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida. AP Photo/Andrew HarnikAndrew Harnik / AP

"I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK? You don’t know who broke in to DNC.” - Donald Trump

As the Republican nominee, Donald Trump speculated during a debate about who may have been behind the Democratic National Committee hacks.

Image: 2016 American Museum Of Natural History Museum Gala
Leslie Jones attends the 2016 American Museum of Natural History Museum Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on Nov. 17 in New York City.Michael Loccisano / Getty Images

"I was recently hacked myself...Yeah, all they did was release some nude pics of me, which is nothing because I don't know if you all know this about me, but I ain't shy.” - Leslie Jones

Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones talked about her hacking ordeal on "Weekend Update."

Image: Facebook outperforms analysts' expectations
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during an event at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California.PETER DASILVA / EPA

"Personally, I think the idea that fake news on Facebook, of which it's a very small amount of the content, influenced the election in any way is a pretty crazy idea." - Mark Zuckerberg

The Facebook CEO was responding to critics who said his social network helps spread fake news. Zuckerberg addressed the issue in subsequent posts, and ultimately implemented a plan to stop fake news sites from making money and easier ways for people to report it when they see it.

Tim Cook discusses the iPhone 7 during an Apple media event in San Francisco
Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook discusses the iPhone 7 during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, U.S. September 7, 2016. Reuters/Beck Diefenbach

"The courage to move on and do something new that betters all of us." - Apple's Phil Schiller, on the missing headphone jack

Apple's senior vice president of marketing gave a moving eulogy to the 3mm headphone jack as he introduced the new port in the iPhone 7.

"I'm a Muslim, and I would like to report a crazy man threatening a woman on a stage in Missouri." - author Mustafa Bayoumi responding to Trump's call to report suspicious activity

Author Mustafa Bayoumi had one of the most viral tweets of the election, playing off a remark from Trump asking Muslims to report suspicious activity. During the second presidential debate, when Trump had been accused by some of "stalking" Clinton around the stage, Bayoumi took to Twitter to do his part.