Latest news with #EncyclopædiaBritannica
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Faizan Zaki wins 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee a year after heartbreaking runner-up finish
At the end of last year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, Faizan Zaki grimaced, nodded his head and offered a gracious handshake as runner-up to winner Bruhat Soma after a dramatic spell-off. One year later, Zaki stood alone, with a trophy in hand. Advertisement The 13-year-old Allen, Texas native beat out eight other finalists to win the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday at National Harbor, Maryland. His winning word: "éclaircissement." You can see the moment he won in the video above. His prizes: $50,000 cash from Scripps, a medal and the Scripps Cup trophy $2,500 cash from Merriam-Webster, plus a reference library from the dictionary company. $400 of books from Encyclopædia Britannica $1,000 in Scholastic Dollars donated to the school of his choice a five-year subscription to a News-O-Matic platform for his school First runner-up Sarvadnya Kadam will receive $25,000, while second runner-up Sarv Dharavane will get $15,000. Zaki had previously competed three times in the spelling bee, finishing 370th in 2019, 21st in 2023 and as the runner-up in 2024. The fourth time was the charm for Faizan Zaki at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) It was nearly another heartbreaker for Zaki earlier in the finals, though. He was poised to win the event after Kadam and Dharavane both misspelled their words in the 18th round. After being asked to spell "commelina," Zaki jumped the gun and started spelling before bothering to ask for the definition or origin. Three letters in — "K, A, M" — Zaki realized his mistake. Advertisement Kadam and Dharavane re-entered the competition, with Dharavane quipping, "This is surprising." Fortunately for Zaki, Dharavane misspelled his next word too, while Kadam fell in the next round, setting him up to take the title. On the final word, longtime spelling bee pronouncer, and former champion, Jacques Bailly playfully asked for "all of us to take a deep breath," to which Zaki deadpanned, "That did not help at all." Zaki again didn't ask for the definition or origin of "éclaircissement," but he clearly had the letters in his head as soon as he heard it. And as soon as the judges confirmed he got it right, he fell to the ground, followed a moment later by the confetti. You can see every word Zaki spelled on his way to victory here.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Faizan Zaki Wins 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee After Coming in Second in 2024
Faizan Zaki is the 2025 champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition. The winner, 13, will receive $50,000 in cash from Scripps, $2,500 cash prize and reference library from Merriam-Webster and $400 worth of reference works from Encyclopædia Britannica, according to Scripps. Zaki, of Plano, Texas, was last year's runner-up. He won this year's competition during the 11th round of the finals with the word "éclaircissement," per The New York Times. The word means "a clearing up of something obscure," per Merriam-Webster. This year's rigorous competition featured 243 bright students from across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe. Students from the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria also competed to represent their country. The 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee also marked its 100th year of spelling competitions. Students and their families visited the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland for Bee Week where the centennial competition was held. Participants competed in four separate segments for the coveted Scripps Cup that included the Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals. The competition broadcasted on ION began May 27 with the final round airing May 29. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Related: Photos of Former National Spelling Bee Champions (and the Words They Won with) The second round of competition in each phase includes a vocabulary round that was introduced in 2021 to promote 'knowledge and literacy' in competitors, according to the Scripps National Spelling Bee's website. The competition then ends with the historical 'spell-off.' During last year's Spelling Bee competition 12-year-old Bruhat Soma was named the national champion after correctly spelling 29 words in a 90-second tiebreaker. ! The seventh grader from St. Petersburg, Fla., faced off with Zaki in a lightning tiebreaker round for competing in a conventional round. Soma's winning word was "abseil," meaning "a descent in mountaineering by means of a rope looped over a projection above," the Scripps organization announced. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Renowned physicist warns of unseen dangers in farming technique: 'Single biggest destructive force on the planet today'
An initiative might appear to be "green," but trouble could be lurking — a lesson that Indian physicist and social advocate Vandana Shiva knows all too well. When Shiva returned to her childhood home for a visit, she discovered that her favorite forest had been razed and a nearby stream drained for an apple orchard. The experience sparked her interest in conservation, leading to the 1982 founding of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology — an organization devoted to sustainable agriculture. "Food is a weapon. When you sell real weapons, you control armies. When you control food, you control society. But when you control seeds, you control life on Earth," Shiva says in her feature-length documentary The Seeds of Vandana Shiva, referring to industrial farming as the "single biggest destructive force on the planet today." As Encyclopædia Britannica explains, Shiva may be most renowned for her work opposing Asia's Green Revolution, a well-meaning initiative in the 1960s to increase food production in less-developed countries. However, Shiva argued that the revolution's tactics were more harmful than helpful, increasing the use of toxic pesticides and polluting fertilizers while reducing indigenous seed biodiversity. Moreover, farmers became dependent on chemical solutions, which raised their operating costs. And with rising global temperatures creating new agricultural challenges, including more intense extreme weather, Shiva believed that focusing solely on industrial, nonnative monoculture crops was dangerous, leaving the world vulnerable to food shortages and threatening the wellspring of knowledge associated with cultural diversity. To combat this, the RFSTE founded seed banks across India in the 1990s as part of its Nine Seeds project, teaching farmers about sustainable agriculture, which incorporates practices that improve soil and ecosystem health, protect against erosion, and reduce the need for expensive chemicals. Shiva has also authored numerous books addressing corporate plundering of poorer countries, the potential pitfalls of seed biodiversity loss related to genetically modified crops, and proposing the development of innovative solutions as in Globalization's New Wars: Seed, Water, and Life Forms, per Britannica. "We will continue to create a new world — seed by seed, person by person, community by community — until this planet is embraced in a circle of resurgent life and resurgent love," Shiva says of her mission in a statement published by documentary maker Sacred Ecology. What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time Not enough space It seems too hard I have a garden already Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Reason Why Encyclopaedia Britannica Refuses To Rename The Gulf Of Mexico Is Going Viral
Lord Jesus, here we are again talking about the "Gulf of America." In case you haven't been caught up on the shenanigans, Google Maps has made the change. Apple Maps has also made the change. And now, one encyclopedia of note is not backing down. I'm, of course, talking about the Encyclopædia Britannica. They explained their reason why in a viral thread, saying: "We serve an international audience, a majority of which is outside the U.S.. The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, and the U.S.'s authority to rename it is ambiguous." "It has been called the 'Gulf of Mexico' for more than 425 years," they continued. "But it's important to note the distinction between international and domestic areas." Then they explained what they would be doing about President Trump's executive order to rename "Mount Denali" back to "Mount McKinley." "President Trump has also signed an executive order to change the name of the Alaskan mountain called 'Denali' back to its former name, 'Mount McKinley.'" "When that change is made official by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, we will also make that change. Just as we did in 2015 when President Barack Obama changed the name of 'McKinley' to 'Denali.'" So, there you have it! 425 years of history and global precedent are kind of big deal. They'll also figure out the Mount Denali thing when/if the U.S. Board on Geographic Names renames it. Anyway, I'm sure this isn't the last of this!
Buzz Feed
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
The Reason Why Encyclopaedia Britannica Refuses To Rename The Gulf Of Mexico Is Going Viral
Lord Jesus, here we are again talking about the "Gulf of America." In case you haven't been caught up on the shenanigans, Google Maps has made the change. Apple Maps has also made the change. And now, one encyclopedia of note is not backing down. I'm, of course, talking about the Encyclopædia Britannica. "It has been called the 'Gulf of Mexico' for more than 425 years," they continued. "But it's important to note the distinction between international and domestic areas." Then they explained what they would be doing about President Trump's executive order to rename "Mount Denali" back to "Mount McKinley." "President Trump has also signed an executive order to change the name of the Alaskan mountain called 'Denali' back to its former name, 'Mount McKinley.'" "When that change is made official by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, we will also make that change. Just as we did in 2015 when President Barack Obama changed the name of 'McKinley' to 'Denali.'" So, there you have it! 425 years of history and global precedent are kind of big deal. They'll also figure out the Mount Denali thing when/if the U.S. Board on Geographic Names renames it. Anyway, I'm sure this isn't the last of this! Caelestiss / Getty Images
