- 96th Spelling Bee gets under way with preliminary rounds
- Why the Spelling Bee is more vital than ever in the age of AI
A four-letter word sent Shradha Rachamreddy to a third-place finish in last year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee.
As the remaining spellers dwindled, Shradha was given “orle”, a heraldry term that means several small charges arranged to form a border within the edge of a field. It sounds exactly like “oral”. Shradha went with “orel” and heard the dreaded bell that signals a misspelled word.