They should invent some kind of nerd detection system, to sift out our nation’s nerds at an early age, test them, and rank them according to nerdiness.
Ha! My mistake. This already exists, and it is called the National Spelling Bee. And ladies and gentlemen, I am very nerdy indeed. May I present Exhibit A:
…hm. Well, it seems that after several minutes of hunting, I can’t find the cover of the 2000 official spelling bee booklet to show you. But rest assured, my little face is on it. I made it to Nationals twice, in seventh and eighth grade, and the second time I got ninth place in the nation.
I know, right? Kick-ass. In the nerdiest possible way, which is pretty much how I roll.
I was thinking about all this once again because just yesterday, the company I work for sponsored a team for a local-area bee to raise money for literacy, and I was part of the six-person team. That was a lot of fun, not least because we won for the second year in a row. (Wooo!! Take that, other local organizations!!!)
Some interesting words, too. For instance, I had only the vaguest notion that there are two different words pronounced “sah-shay.” One is spelled phonetically, “sashay,” and means “to walk or move nonchalantly.” The other is “sachet” and refers to a small bag of potpourri. If you knew that already, well, aren’t you smart! But it was news to me.
All of which demonstrates a fundamental truth: English be crazy, yo.
Have a good weekend, everybody.
Brian D. Buckley 