for each individual, has received upwards of 20,000 entries in a single week. A group of devotees (see links) of the S.I. meets periodically in the Washington, D.C., area, and hosts an annual "Flushies" awards dinner that has attracted gameplayers from as far away as Ireland and California. The contest also gets entries from England, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand. Further indicative of interest in the S.I. was a (now-defunct) Rotisserie League, in which players championed and won points for the successes of their favorite entrants. There has also been a contest newsletter, "Depravda", begun by Elden Carnahan of Laurel, Md., and subsequently foisted off on another unsuspecting Loser. Once a proud monthly periodical, "Depravda" now appears only when editorial inertia can be overcome. In August 2007, the contest was moved to the Style section of Saturday's Post when Sunday Style was shortened and combined with Arts. In early 2011, the Invitational returned to the Post's Sunday Style. On December 1, 2022, the Post announced that the last day the column would run would be December 11. Any contests in progress that would have had winners published after that date will not appear. Although the Post received numerous letters to the editors complaining about the change, the final column did run on December 11 and was a celebration of past entries. Severaly days later, it was announced on the S.I.'s Facebook Page, and Gene Weingarten's Twitter feed, that the S.I. would take up a new home on Substack, be renamed "The Invitational", and that the Czar and Empress would co-moderate it. As of 2023, it is free to read, but users must subscribe at a rate of $50 per year to contribute. This subscription also allows the user to contribute to Gene's semi-weekly (Tuesdays and Thursdays) online chat, on his Substack page "The Gene Pool". Numerous humorous lists passed around the Internet, usually misattributed, had their actual origin in the Style Invitational. Notable entrants The most notable name in S.I. annals is Chuck Smith, of Woodbridge, Virginia, who first won in the contest's sixth week. His frequent successes inspired a contest solely to decide what to do about him. He won that contest, too. Brendan Beary, of Great Mills, Md., was the 2005 chart topper, with 179 "inks". In 2006, he won a limerick contest between himself and Chris Doyle (see below). Russell Beland, formerly of Springfield, Virginia now of