The 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee championship finals are tonight air live on ABC May 30 between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. EDT.

In light of this tradition The Wall Street Journal tells the story of Roosevelts bid to conform to a strictly phonetic based spelling, that it would make it easier for children, foreigners and adults with learning disabilities to read and write.

What seemed like a good idea - changing "through" to "thru," and so on - turned into a humiliating disaster. Newspapers mocked him as "Rozevult." A group formed in New York calling itself the "Through Memorial Association." Four months later, Congress voted 142-24 to overturn the order. Here is a comparison list of standard vs Roosevelts spelling.