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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Boy wins challenge to spell mammoth word
2004-11-19
EFL. I'm impressed.
Third grader Aaron Zweig can spell "ornicopytheobibliopsychocrystarroscioaero-genethliometeoroaustrohieroanthropoichthyopyrosideroch-pnomyoalectryoophiobotanopegobydrorhab-docrithoaleuroalphitohalomolybdoclerobeloax-inocoscinodactyliogeolithopessopsephocatop-trotephraoneirochiroonychodactyloarithstichooxogeloscogastro-gyrocerobletonooenosapulinaniac." Zweig, 9, spelled the word before his class last month after he was given a challenge by his teacher. The teacher said she was surprised, to say the least, that Zweig was able to recite the entire 310 letters. Zweig is a student at Fernbrook Elementary School and last year, his spelling impressed his second grade teacher, Ruth Kalata. So this year, Kalata posed the challenge of the giant word."I told him he should come back to me when he had learned the word, thinking he never would," Kalata said on Nov. 11. "But two weeks later he was back and spelled it in front of my class. It was really a joke to challenge him, but he thrives on challenges like that." Kalata said that last year, the youth learned to spell two, extremely long words, antidisestablishmentarianism and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.But the two words with 34 and 28 letters, respectively, were puny compared with the latest challenge.
And, yes, it has a definition.
According to a book of facts, the 310-letter word was used by medieval scribes to refer to someone who practices divination or forecasting by means of phenomena, interpretation of acts, or other manifestations related to animate or inanimate objects and appearances such as various animal behaviors, dreams, palmistry, wands, ring suspension and a number of other methods.
In other words, an exit pollster
Bring me The Writ Of Common Wisdom!
"When Aaron spelled the word in front my class, he paused part way through and told the class not to worry because he was almost done," said Kalata. "It amazed me that he could pause, make a comment, then continue spelling without losing his place."
Showoff...
Posted by:tu3031

#8  In the absence of reality TV, medieval scribes made up words to amuse themselves. That's my working theory, anyway.
Posted by: eLarson   2004-11-19 9:25:26 PM  

#7  Well they did describe the word as mammoth...
Posted by: tu3031   2004-11-19 7:36:47 PM  

#6  Yo moderators, please insert spaces after the hyphens in that monstrosity so we don't have to put up with a page that's 2-1/2 screens wide in Mozilla! Thanks!
Posted by: Old Grouch   2004-11-19 7:35:26 PM  

#5  Woops, I meant waptor! Sowwy, bwo! Lol!
Posted by: .com   2004-11-19 6:46:49 PM  

#4  tu - Lol! Vewy, vewy, cawefully, methinks. ;-)
Posted by: .com   2004-11-19 6:45:54 PM  

#3  Yeah,but how do you say it?
Posted by: raptor   2004-11-19 6:42:42 PM  

#2  Can you learn to use word breaks for those who use REAL browsers?
Posted by: True German Ally   2004-11-19 4:13:50 PM  

#1  And some madrassa boys can even recite the Koran by heart...
Posted by: borgboy   2004-11-19 4:10:54 PM  

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