Last Hoosier Knocked out of Spelling Bee

Vaibhav Vavilala (a 7th grader from Carmel, IN) was the last hoosier in the National Spelling Bee this year. He lost on 'Serdab' in the sixth round. A 'Serdab' is a living room in the basement. It's from the Egyptian and was originally a hidden chamber in a tomb.

Did we used to have to know words from other languages?

Update: Well, my information was wrong... Vavilala was not the last Hoosier in the spelling bee... a Hoosier won!

With the sister coaching him, Sameer augmented his spelling talent with a sense of humor that often kept the Grand Hyatt Ballroom audience laughing. The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, Ind., was finally all business when he aced "guerdon" — an appropriate word, given that it means "something that one has earned or gained" — to win the 81st bee Friday night.

"I'm not used to people laughing at my jokes — except for my sister," Sameer said.