Pay With Words Vending Machine Debuts At National Spelling Bee

The National Spelling Bee will always make education and vocabulary a major part of any competition. Kids go to these events aiming to spell a plethora of complex words down to each precise letter. They will make friends that can do the same and spend their free-time swatting up on sneaky linguistical conventions that might catch them out. At this year’s finals, however, there was another spelling-related challenge to contend with.

Spelling Bee Finalists Got To Test Out A “Pay With Words” Vending Machine.

The event was sponsored by Hillshire Farm, proud producers of snack foods that they promise are perfect for fuelling kids’ study sessions. To honor that partnership, they created a vending machine with little snack packs of meat, cheese, and sweet treats. But, as this was the National Spelling Bee finals, this wasn’t your typical machine.

Instead of inserting currency, the kids aged between 7 and 15 used a “pay with words” system. The machine would say a word, and the kids would type in the spelling on a keypad. Those that got it right got their tasty reward. Presumably, there was no option to ask the machine to repeat the word or use it in context, and hopefully, the voice was easy to understand.

Does The Pay With Words Vending Machine Have A Bright Future?

Although gimmicky and best suited to this sort of environment, there is some potential in this product. Kids don’t have to waste their allowance while away at events and get easy access to more than candy and chips. With a $50,000 cash prize up for grabs, any nutritious snack to help with studying is more than welcome.

It isn’t clear right now if this was a one-time promotional stunt, or if we can expect to see this sort of machine at the 2023 finals. Still, you have to imagine some schools would be interested in installing one of these alternative vending machines.

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First Ever Catholic Spelling Bee

The first-ever National Catholic School Spanish spelling bee was won by the fourth-grade team from Saint Procopius in Chicago.

The winning spelling answer is the word “Felicidades”, which translates as “congratulations” in Spanish terms.

On Friday, the team bagged their victory and received a trophy and medals for their thrilling win through Zoom. St. Procopius prevailed after being tied with a Texas team in the last match. They have won the first-ever Spanish spelling bee for Catholic Schools nationwide, taking first place.

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The Determination Of A Returning Spelling Bee Finalist

It takes a lot of dedication to enter one Spelling Bee and fight your way all the way to the national finals. It takes an impressive amount to experience defeat and re-enter year after year, all with the same hopes of success. That is just the start of the story of a young boy called Dev Jaiswal.

Jaiswal’s Interest In The Spelling Bee Began When Watching His Sister.

Dev’s first experience with spelling bees came when his sister competed in the national bee. He attended with his family to cheer her on and enjoy the activities of Bee Week. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is widely regarded as the Olympics of spelling, with good reason. It is a serious competition mixed with a fun atmosphere. Encouraged by the enjoyment he experienced, he decided to put himself forward for spelling bees.

Over Time, Jaiswal Would Compete In Many Events In The Hope Of Glory.

Dev’s journey began in 4th grade when he competed in his first bee. The following year, he tried again and reached the national competition, only to rank 51st overall. Rather than call it quits, he tried again but failed to qualify for the national bee for the next two years.

One of the most important rules of the National Spelling Bee is the age limit. You can start at age 7, but you cannot compete if you are 15 or over, have completed 8th grade, or are a past winner. When the 2015 competitions came around, Jaiswal was in 8th grade, so this was his final shot. This time, he qualified for the national bee in D.C. and got right near the end – only to be thwarted by a single letter.

Jaiswal’s Story Didn’t End There.

In many cases, the names of spelling bee finalists don’t get that much press attention or wider interest. You might see an article here or there about the finals, and then it all dies down. It was a little different for Dev, however, due to instant social media fame. For a short period, he was the “iridocyclitis kid” after a viral Vine showing his pronunciation of the word that knocked him out.

Seven years on, Jaiswal is now a senior at Princeton, so still heavily devoted to his education. Vine may be long dead, but you have to wonder how many peers still get him to spell iridocyclitis on campus.

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