It took only one question to break an 11-way tie in the preliminary round of a national geography bee in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Autumn Hughes, a home- schooled 12-year-old from Wheat Ridge, and nine others knew Tunisia was the smallest African country that borders the Mediterranean Sea.
The 11 students had all obtained perfect scores but only 10 could compete in the final event of the 18th annual National Geographic Bee today.
“Eleven perfect scores. It’s phenomenal, we’ve never had it happen,” said National Geographic Society spokeswoman Ellen Siskind. “Then one poor boy got it wrong.”
Representing the Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Hughes, a violinist who skis and sails, survived preliminaries on Tuesday against 54 state-level winners.
“I’m pretty relaxed,” Hughes said. “I’ve made it this far.”
The bee, moderated by “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek, covers the world and everything in it.
“It’s not just capitals and places, it’s culture, environment, economics and politics,” Siskind said.
The students, ages 11 to 14, will climb the stage this morning and face a mind-bending game of elimination.
Each has two lights at his or her podium. Miss one answer, and one light goes out, dimming contestants’ hopes for the first prize: a $25,000 college scholarship and a lifetime membership in the society.
If the second light goes, the student is escorted from the stage.
“It’s not terribly stressful, but it’s traumatic- I give them a lot of credit,” Siskind said.
