Q 01/05

Which word did 11-year-old Frank Neuhauser spell to win the first National Spelling Bee in 1925?

A) Gladiolus

B) Chrysanthemum

C) Rhododendron

D) Amaryllis

Answer · why

A) Gladiolus

The bee was started by the Louisville Courier-Journal as a merger of local contests; Scripps took over sponsorship in 1941.

Q 02/05

Which newspaper founded the National Spelling Bee in 1925?

A) The Washington Post

B) The Louisville Courier-Journal

C) The Chicago Tribune

D) The Cincinnati Enquirer

Answer · why

B) The Louisville Courier-Journal

The E. W. Scripps Company has run it since 1941; the finals are held near Washington, D.C. each late May or early June.

Q 03/05

How many contestants shared the Scripps National Spelling Bee title in 2019, when the word list ran out?

A) Two

B) Four

C) Eight

D) Twelve

Answer · why

C) Eight

The 'octochamps' prompted a new spell-off tiebreaker from 2021: spell as many words as you can in 90 seconds.

Q 04/05

2021 spelling bee champion Zaila Avant-garde also holds Guinness records in which sport?

A) Gymnastics

B) Swimming

C) Chess

D) Basketball

Answer · why

D) Basketball

She won with 'murraya'; first prize is $50,000.

Q 05/05

Which 1985 champion began the long run of Indian American winners at the National Spelling Bee?

A) Balu Natarajan

B) Nupur Lala

C) Pratyush Buddiga

D) Anurag Kashyap

Answer · why

A) Balu Natarajan

Nupur Lala's 1999 win was later featured in the documentary Spellbound.