Arvind Mahankali was barely five years old when he first set out to win at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, though of course, it took him about four years to actually make it there. Arvind first competed in the competition at the age of nine (he was eliminated on the word "Presa") and has returned every year since,…

Aspiring competitive spellers, take note: this AP story on 14-year-old Snigdha Nandipati, the year's Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, is simply awesome. Here are some tips on how to take home one of the nerdiest trophies ever (and we mean "nerdiest" in a totally envious, very good way, obviously):

Lori Anne Madison, the 6-year-old baby genius who made history as the youngest contestant ever to be made eligible for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, was eliminated from the competition yesterday (just shy of the semifinals round) after misspelling the word ingluvies.

At only six-years-old, Virginia girl Lori Anne Madison has become the youngest person to qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee in its entire 87-year history. Madison began reading at the age of two and has been taught at home by her professor mother since being told that she was too "advanced to attend" her…

The Scripps National Spelling Bee ran late tonight when the last five contestants spelled 21 consecutive words without a miss. Finally, each botched a word, leaving only 14-year-old Sukanya Roy of South Abington Township, Pennsylvania. Roy took home $40,000 in cash and prizes after correctly spelling cymotrichous,…

[Washington, D.C., June 3. Image via Official White House Photostream]

Congratulations to Ohio's Anamika Veeramani, who won this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word "stromuhr," which, according to Webster's, is a "rheometer designed to measure the amount and speed of blood flow through an artery." [MSNBC]

Four adults dressed in bee costumes appeared yesterday outside the Grand Hyatt where the Scripps National Spelling Bee is being held. They were, oddly enough, there to protest words.

[Washington, D.C., June 3. Image via Getty]