Congratulations are in order for CBS' The Young and the Restless, which announced today that it has officially held the spot as the number one rated soap opera for 26 consecutive years.

The soap began its winning streak on December 26, 1988, and has been going strong since that point, refusing to be unseated by any other daytime drama in over two decades.

By the numbers, 26 years equals 1,352 weeks in the number one spot. When Y&R first took over the top spot in 1988, you could buy a movie ticket for $3.50, a gallon of gas topped off at 91 cents, the antidepressant Prozac was introduced, and the biggest song of the year was "Faith" by George Michael.

And speaking of numbers, according to the Nielsen ratings for the week of December 12, the show averaged 4.76 million viewers -- up 4% from the week prior.

Congratulations, Y&R!

What do you think about The Young and the Restless officially making it 26 years as daytime's number one drama series? Why do you think the show has been able to continuously beat all other soap operas? You can share your thoughts below in the Comments section below, or share your thoughts via Feedback by clicking here.