International Mathematical Olympiad
Mathletes weren't dreamed up by the writing team of Freaks and Geeks. Instead, for over 50 years, national teams of high school–age math whizzes have competed during an annual summit. The two-day event is basically a sit-down exam: competitors individually complete six problems on projective and complex geometry, functional equations and theory. Each exam is scored for ingenuity and accuracy and, much like the Olympics, individual victories bring glory to the team. At this year's games in Astana, Kazakhstan, those who scored over 27 points out of 42 earned a gold medal, while 21 to 26 points garnered a silver and 15 to 20 points a bronze. China's Zipei Nie took home the top prize with a perfect score and American Evan O'Dorney came in second. O'Dorney, in fact, is also the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee champ and a piano player: a triple geek?