Sports 🛎️ Ding! The Civil War-era history of Scripps National Spelling Bee bell: ‘Some of it’s a mystery’ May 31, 2022May 31, 2022 Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY Comments Off on 🛎️ Ding! The Civil War-era history of Scripps National Spelling Bee bell: ‘Some of it’s a mystery’ When head judge Mary Brooks presses her right hand on top of her bell, it signals that speller has made a mistake. "It has quite a history."