| Frank Neuhauser's Bouquet of Gladiolus | |
|---|---|
| |
| "I'm not obsessing with finding this artifact, I swear! ...S-W-E-A-R..."
- Michael Korss | |
|
Origin |
Frank Louis Neuhauser |
|
Type |
Bouquet of Gladiolus |
|
Effects |
Advanced Spelling Aptitude |
|
Downsides |
Obsessive Behavior |
|
Activation |
Contact |
|
Collected by |
|
|
Section |
|
|
Aisle |
Antheia-7066G |
|
Shelf |
TBA |
|
Date of Collection |
July 1st, 1969 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Frank Louis Neuhauser (September 29, 1913 – March 11, 2011) was an American patent lawyer and spelling bee champion, who won the first National Spelling Bee in 1925 by successfully spelling the word "gladiolus." Today, the bee is known as the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Neuhauser defeated nine finalists on stage, who had been whittled down from approximately two million schoolchildren, to win the first ever National Spelling Bee, held in Washington D.C. in June 1925. He had prepared for the bee by copying the dictionary into a blank notebook. Neuhauser, who was eleven years old at the time of the contest, met U.S. President Calvin Coolidge and was awarded five hundred dollars in gold pieces for his victory. His hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, gave Neuhauser a parade in his honor and presented him with bouquets of gladiolus. His classmates and school also gave him a bicycle. During his later life, Neuhauser often appeared as a guest of honor at more recent spelling bees
Effects[]
When at least one flower is in physical contact with a person, they will be able to spell more and more complex words. The more flowers that are held, the more powerful the effect. However, holding a flower will increase the user's pressure to succeed, and if exposed for prolonged periods of time or to too many flowers, this can result in an intense emotional breakdown.
Collection[]
Most of the bouquet was collected by deceased Agent Korss in 1969, except for one single flower. In early 1976, nearly a year after they had been working together, Agents Korss and Barry were tasked with collected what seemed to be the final missing flower from a girl who won a local spelling bee, but it turned out to be a normal flower. To this day, the final flower remains uncollected.