When Reem Fattouh was one-year-old, her dad stopped by a pharmacy to pick up some medicine for her mother, who was expecting her second child.
Two years later her dad was driving by the same store when he heard his daughter say, "That's where we went to get the medicine for mom."
Her dad was completely baffled. And suddenly aware that his child with the curly, black hair was very, very smart.
Fattouh, 31, a web designer, recalled her early years as she prepared to go on the CBC game show, Test the Nation.
Born to Lebanese parents who moved to Windsor in the 1970s, Fattouh didn't speak English until she started kindergarten. Once there, her teachers learned she could read aloud and do arithmetic.
They created special exercises for her to tackle. By Grade 3, Fattouh was solving algebra problems. The next year, she was placed in a class for gifted children at Hetherington Public School.
She continued to learn alongside other bright kids during her years at Vincent Massey Secondary School, known for its academic achievement.
While there, Fattouh discovered the perfect extracurricular activity - a team called Reach for the Top.
"It was just like any other team such as basketball or volleyball," she said.
Instead of throwing hoops, the four players competed against other schools in Canada by answering Canadian trivia questions. For Fattouh this was easy. She had a mind like a sponge. The team won the city-wide championship two years in a row.
So last fall, when she heard from a friend the CBC was looking for former Reach the Toppers for its quiz show Test the Nation, she immediately wrote in. Soon after, she learned she'd been selected as a contestant. The theme for the show? Canada.
"It should be fun," Fattouh said. "The only thing at stake is bragging rights." And a $5000 travel voucher for the person who scores the highest.
The day the show films there will be six groups competing - Reach for the Top, Americans living in Canada, new Canadians and three others.
Despite her brainpower, Fattouh is unpretentious. "I don't like to consider myself smart," she said. "It's a weird word. It doesn't tell the whole story."
