I am a big, big fan of televised academic challenge shows. Heck, I’ve already earmarked the upcoming Capital One College Bowl show on NBC as must-watch programming.
That being said, I need you to watch this academic competition show from Nigeria. It’s one of the more popular programs in that country, and it features young secondary school students showing off their skills in calculus, trigonometry, algebra and other mathematics disciplines.
Wellcome to Cowbellpedia.
Cowbellpedia, named for its sponsor (Cowbell Milk), is an intense mathematics challenge where students from all over Nigeria answer questions with lightning-fast accuracy and win prizes for it.
Holy cow. And check out this superbrain on Cowbellpedia, who rifled through a litany of mathematical equations like they were mail boxes along a lonely highway.
Could you imagine a program like this in the United States? No, seriously. Could you even imagine if we could find the top mathematics students from around the country and put them in this kind of competition?
I’m telling you, a show like this would be fun.
And trust me, I’m speaking as a veteran of academic quiz shows.
Which, of course, always gives me an excuse to bring up this old footage. 😀
Chuck The Writer 
Chuck:
I tried watching the Capital One College Bowl last year. To me, it’s must avoid. Peyton Manning, for all of his folksy, Andy Griffith-wannabe charm, is not a game show host. He’s also the executive producer of ABC’s Final Straw, which is Jenga on steroids. I grew up with the original College Bowl at the end of its run with Robert Earle. I’d sooner have Ben Stein taking over College Bowl.
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