It happened three years ago—in the critically-acclaimed major motion picture, Akeelah and the Bee. In real life there have been only three instances of co-champions—1950, 1957 and 1962.
- This year we welcome 273 spellers— the greatest number of U.S.-based spellers in the history of the event.
- Bee Week 2010 marks the first visit to the nation’s capital for 110 spellers.
- Speller 91, Vanya Shivashankar, of Olathe, Kansas, is at age 8 the youngest speller in the competition. She is also the sister of 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion Kavya Shivashankar.
- The spellers range in age from 8 to 15 years old, but 80% are between the ages of 12 and 14 years old.
- Last year's winning word, Laodicean, means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics.
- The pronouncer, Dr. Jacques A. Bailly, is fluent in French and German, and he teaches ancient Greek and Latin.
- English is not the first language of 21 spellers, and 102 spellers speak languages other than English.
- The spellers' favorite words include schadenfreude, pfeffernuss and onomatopoeia.
