I have to confess I didn’t know It’s Academic was still on the air in Washington, DC and six other cities after nearly 50 years. Sophie Altman, the brains behind the brainiac TV quiz show — the longest running quiz show in history, reportedly — died last week. The Washington Post files a lovely obit. Check out the 1965 photo from the show of a Illinois high schooler named Hillary Rodham.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
This could be another Tuzla sniper story: The photo shows seven students and a teacher. But an It’s Academic team was made up of three students. Maybe her school had back-ups, but would they have four of them?
I competed in my senior year, 1973-74 for Highland Park High (Illinois). In two rounds with three three-student teams, I was the only girl. Apparently, girls weren’t aggressive enough about shouting out answers in the try-outs.
Brad, Mike and I won the first round. In the second, we lost to New Trier West, which had a red-headed sophomore who kept answering questions in mid-sentence. At my 20th high school reunion, I asked Mike if he remembered that damn sophomore. “The red-headed kid!” he said. Brad remembered the kid’s name.