News on Relevant Science: 11 Funniest Flubs in Spelling Bee History

Spelling bees are a surprisingly rich source of entertainment, and the potential for hilarious flubs is a big part of that. Spelling bee participants, particularly the ones on this list, are often in middle school, an already awkward time. Pair that with being put on the spot to perform on stage in front of people (and even on national TV), and you’ve got a recipe for extreme awkwardness. Weird words, funny personalities, and nerves all come together to make for these 11 hilarious moments in spelling bee history. We hope you enjoy following along with these huge spelling bee wins.

Numbnut

Poor Sameer Mishra has gone down in history for one of the funniest spelling bee moments ever. At the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2008, he was assigned the word "numnuh," which sounds surprisingly similar to "numbnut," a word we’re betting Mishra was not expecting to have to spell. Fortunately, it only takes a definition and a repetition of the pronunciation to spark recognition in Mishra’s brain, but that priceless moment when he thought he was going to have to spell "numbnut" on national TV makes this one of the best spelling bee flubs of all time, made even better by the fact that by surviving the "numnah" round, Mishra was able to go on and win the grand prize.
Negus

Like Sameer Mishra, Andrew Ley is another victim of word that sounds quite similar to something you’d really not want to say, much less spell, on national TV. Ley was assigned the word "negus," which when pronounced, sounds a lot like a derogatory word. Ley’s nerves are quite evident in this video, and as he stalls with the definition and origin, you can just see the disbelief and fear working in his mind as he hopes he really doesn’t have to spell a hateful word to win the spelling bee. Several deep breaths and scrunched, uncomfortable faces later, Ley does find the right spelling, dodging an incredibly offensive national incident. The shock and disbelief is apparent both in his actions and the reaction of the audience.
Sardoodledom

What happens if you’re given a hilarious word during a spelling bee? If you’re lucky like this contestant, everyone laughs along with you as you’re barely able to get the words and letters out to spell it. Follow along as the contestant and judge both say "sardoodledom" over and over again, keeping a (mostly) straight face in the process. The kid makes it even sweeter by pulling out all the stops, asking for not just a definition and sentence, but also language of origin, alternate pronunciations, and part of speech, resulting in moment upon hilarious (and slightly uncomfortable) moment. Incredibly, he does eventually get it right, and books it back to his chair to collapse in laughter.
Feeling faint

In 2004, speller Akshay Buddiga put on an incredibly smooth performance. He was asked to spell the word "alopecoid," after which he promptly passed out. The crowd was shocked, but just moments later, Buddiga calmly stood up again, and without any reference to the shocking moment that just happened, went on to spell the word correctly and walk off like he wasn’t just on the floor five seconds ago. But perhaps the incident did shake him a bit: Buddiga did not win the spelling bee, coming in at a still-impressive second place.
Chinook, as spelled by Napoleon Dynamite

Sometimes the crowd is with you, sometimes they just don’t get the joke. For Dominic Ranz Ebarle Errazo, the latter was true, as he briefly impersonated Napoleon Dynamite in a stunt that we’re sure sounded hilarious to the 13-year old and his buddies. But his joke fell flat, catching only a subdued reaction, after which he quickly got serious and moved on to save face. Listen carefully to hear one woman who just doesn’t get it ask, "is that a secret message?"
Euonym

Not exactly a flub, but wildly entertaining nonetheless, the final word that 1997 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion Rebecca Sealfon had to spell was a moment to remember. As she realized that she could easily spell the word "euonym" and claim her victory, Sealfon began to scream the letters aloud in a very dramatic, even funny fashion, as the audience and announcer laughed along with her.
Speling Bee

Occasionally, it’s clear that the adults in charge just don’t have it together as well as the kids do. Dallas student Emily White offers a great example of this sad but true fact, as the spelling bee champion’s certificate was misspelled. Instead of noting her certificate of recognition with the "Dallas County Spelling Bee," hers was printed without the second "l" in spelling, reading "Dallas County Speling Bee." White posted her certificate on Facebook to share with friends, and the image spread throughout the Internet and news outlets. After the error was brought to light, White was issued a corrected certificate, and she wrote a letter of apology to her school district for attracting so much negative attention.
Spellling bee trophies

Poor Emily White is not alone in her suffering. Students at Viewmont Elementary in Murray, Utah spotted an embarassing typo on their spelling bee trophies: instead of Emily White’s missing "l," they had entirely too many, three "l"s where there should be two, with "Spellling Bee" where "Spelling Bee" should have been. Third place winner Kevin Bailey says, "It’s funny ’cause I won this ’cause of spelling, and it has a spelling error on it." Unlike White, the boys in Utah are apparently keeping their misspelled trophies intact. One winner said that he prefers it this way: "I don’t want it spelled correctly ’cause it’s pretty cool, and it got me on the news."
How do you spell that?

Contestants who are unsure (and even some who are sure) of words can ask a number of questions when given a word to spell, from the definition of the word to its country and language of origin. With so many questions available to them, it sometimes seems like the only one missing is "How do you spell that?" Katherine Morrison Seymour pulls out all the stops and actually does ask that question, seemingly in jest, sparking laughter from the audience and judge. The judge doesn’t miss a beat, though, responding, "I wish I could tell you." Unfortunately, answering the question would have been helpful for Seymour, as she ultimately got the spelling of "incunabula" incorrect.
Hechsher

At the 79th Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2006, a rare error was made in the spelling of a word on the judges’ word lists. The mistake was made on the word "hechsher," which was incorrectly listed on the judges’ word list as "hechscher." In Round 8, participant Saryn Hooks correctly spelled the word, but was eliminated due to the incorrect spelling on the word list. Fortunately, the mistake was caught in time, and Hooks was reinstated. And it’s a good thing: Hooks went on to win third place in the competition.
Spelling bee smartass

In 2007, Evan O’Dorney took the grand prize in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and was interviewed live by Michelle Hackman on CNN American Morning to discuss his achievement. We’re sure Hackman was expecting an easy interview, with lowball questions about how he felt, what homeschooling is like, and similar small talk. But O’Dorney is clearly not impressed by the attention and most of her questions fall flat. Even an attempt to have him spell a word blows up in Hackman’s face as she can’t pronounce it correctly, or give O’Dorney the language of origin he’s looking for. This is easily the most uncomfortable video we’ve shared, but it’s funny nonetheless to watch a young smartass at work on live national television.