code: def mostCommonItem(lst):
      
      # This elegant solution from: http://stackoverflow.com/a/1518632/1760218
      lst = [l for l in lst if l]
      if lst:
          return max(set(lst), key=lst.count)
      else:
          return None
docs: Choose the most common item from the list, or the first item if all
      items are unique.