The Bee Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spelling schools

This title certainly did not give the impression of a wild and rowdy event! Instead, the "spelling schools" were competitive but peaceful evening events.

Answer: Most languages are spelled phonetically; a spelling bee wouldn't be much of a challenge!

Due to its roots in a multiplicity of languages, English is fiendishly inconsistent when it comes to the spelling of words. In contrast, most other languages follow strict phonetic rules, and thus a spelling bee in Spanish or Russian would pose little challenge.

Answer: False

In fact, the winning words today are much more difficult than those of the Bee's earlier years. As examples, some of the winning words in the first decade of the Bee (1925-1935) were "knack," "gladiolus," "luxuriance," "deteriorating" and "intelligible." In the decade 1996-2006, winning words included "autochthonous," "appoggiatura," "vivisepulture," "succedaneum," and "ursprache."

Answer: Yes

In fact, it's happened three times- in 1950, 1957, and 1962.

Answer: They feel that the English language should be made easier to spell

This group, the Simplified Spelling Society, feels that the English language should be entirely revamped to be spelled phonetically. They feel the Bee highlights the absurdity and uselessness of the English language, which they think is not something to be celebrated.

Answer: Newspapers

Almost all entrants are sponsored by newspaper publishers, who usually pay the travel expenses of the contestant, some family members and often the contestant's English teacher.

The EW Scripps Company, sponsor of the Bee itself, owns many newspapers, including the New York Herald Tribune, the Cincinnati Post and the Rocky Mountain News.

Answer: False

Contestants from several countries have participated, most often from Canada and New Zealand. In 2006, Finola Hackett, the second-place finisher, was from Alberta, Canada. In 1998, Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica won the Bee.

Answer: The lawnmower round

Alas, the "lawnmower round" was my downfall as a contestant in 1976. "Aporia," meaning "A figure of speech in which the speaker expresses or purports to be in doubt about a question," according to dictionary.com, was my nemesis. Fearing the often-deadly silent "h," I spelled it "aphoria."

Answer: Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged

This dictionary, often called "Webster's Third" for short, contains over 450,000 words. It was first published in 1961. At least one Bee contestant, David Tidmarsh, had as his claim to fame having read and studied the entire Webster's Third. He won the 1997 Bee.

Answer: Words of the Champions

Perhaps "Words of the Champions" sounded too much like a Wheaties commercial? "Paideia" is a Greek word referring to the process of educating people so that they may reach their true potential. It is found in root form in several words, such as encyclopedia and Wikipedia.

Answer: False

While this was true in the past, the increasingly-capable cadre of spellers attending the Bee has led to the selection of more and more obscure words. Placenames and other proper nouns, as well as foreign words, are fair game now.

Answer: A contestant fainted onstage during the Bee

While no one had a spell at the Spelling Bee in 2006, in 2004, Akshay Buddiga did indeed faint during his time upon the stage. He recovered, spelled his word ("alopecoid") correctly, and went on to eventually take second place.

During the 2006 Bee, online betting book PinnacleSports.com took bets on such matters as whether the winner would wear glasses and whether the final word contained an "E." (The winner, Kerry Close, did not wear glasses, and her word, "ursprache," did indeed contain an "E.")

ABC broadcast the finals live on prime-time TV for the first time ever.

Speller Saryn Hooks was reinstated after she spelled the word "hechsher" correctly. The judge's list had the word as "hechscher," but Lucas Brown, brother of San Diego contestant Julia Brown, caught the error when he entered the word into his computer's dictionary. His father brought this to the attention of the Bee judges, and Saryn was reinstated . She went on to take third place.

Answer: "Spellbound," a 2002 documentary about the 1999 National Spelling Bee

Disney Theatrical dropped the project for unknown reasons. It was probably intended to compete with (or at least copy the success of) the popular play "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."

Answer: Kabbalism

In this complex novel (which is more about family and religious relationships than the Bee,) Eliza and her father Saul explore the techniques of 13th-century kabbalist Abraham Abulafia, who delved into trying to connect with the spirits of words.

Answer: Audience members become part of the onstage spelling bee

Audience members are invited to participate in the bee. While they are indeed given some fake words (such as "smoogligan" and "krizzlemum,") most of the words are genuine. On several occasions, National Spelling Bee participants have been part of the impromptu cast!