budigod's Latest News: 11.18.2021

 budigod's Latest News: 11.18.2021

    Hey, guys! It's budigod, back with another BLN article. You'll notice that I didn't post an article yesterday. I was way too tired to make an article, especially after school, so I took a pass. But the schedule listed in this past Sunday's (Nov. 14) article is still up to date as of today.

    Let's begin!

    Thanksgiving. A time-honored holiday that started with the Pilgrims way back in the 15th century. You probably already know about a major aspect of Thanksgiving, so let's move on to...

    "The Scripps National Spelling Bee? You've gotta be kidding me. I didn't delete my Twitter account for this crap!" you say to your computer even though you are fully aware that it cannot hear you...if the microphone's off.
       

   Ok. Let me set the stage for you. It's June 6th, 1985. You're at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., staring at a 13-year-old 8th grader who also happens to be an Indian-American and a boy. You see another 13-year-old (a girl) who missed the spelling of the word "farrago." You see the boy spell "farrago" correctly, and then he is asked to spell a championship word--which is "milieu." The boy spells the word correctly, and then he is declared champion of the 58th Scripps National Spelling Bee.

        The girl's name is Kate Lingley, and the boy's name...is Balu Natarajan. Balu made history by being the first Indian-American (and the first from the Chicago area) to win the Bee. In the following years, other Indian-Americans followed suit; Rageshree Bhag Ramachandran (the girl with a long name who won the 61st Bee in 1988), Nupur Lala (she won the 72nd Bee in 1999), George Thampy (he trusted Jesus all the way to 1st place in the 73rd Bee in 2000), and more.

        But then in 2008, something really mind-blowing happened. That year, Sameer Mishra won the 81st Bee--with the word "guerdon"--and it sparked a revolution. For the next 10 years--from 2009 to 2019--TWENTY INDIAN-AMERICANS WON THE SPELLING BEES. THAT IS 20 PEOPLE. And it all led up to the 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2019, when SEVEN OUT OF THE EIGHT CO-CHAMPIONS WERE INDIAN-AMERICANS. HOLY FRICKING CRAP, THAT IS TWENTY PEOPLE!

    Whew. Alright. I lost control there. I'm good now. But you can see my point, right? Since 1985, Indian-Americans have achieved sheer dominance over the Scripps Spelling Bees. They may be bound to lose interest over time, but, hey, they got trophies! (And money lmao)


    That's all for today! Tomorrow, we'll take a look at Black Friday, and on Saturday, we'll talk about Christmas and my YouTube channel! (Yes.) See you later!


And always remember: This is what kids under 13 need to read so that they don't have to make a Twitter account. This is budigod's Latest News!

-Vivaan Eleti (budigod)
11.18.2021