Losses. If you won the contest or did okay, you’d want everyone to see the show. But if you messed up big time, you might want to hide forever. So, what do you do? Hide your face in shame or laugh it off?
The Worst Mistake on the Wheel of Fortune
However a contestant handles it, it’s always entertaining for the audience. Matt, a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, made what was probably the worst mistake in the show’s history. Despite the blunder, Matt won $23,350. He probably doesn’t feel too bad about his embarrassing error.
But his huge mistake did overshadow the entire episode. In this round, the goal was to solve a word puzzle as fast as possible. The category was “people,” and the puzzle looked like this: N_ T – _ N _ R _ T _ _ N TH_.
Matt asked if the puzzle contained the letter “N.” It did, and here’s how the puzzle looked after: N_ T – _ N _ R _ T _ _ N TH_. Matt then guessed, “The Greatest Buttercut.” It was a bizarre guess since “Buttercut” didn’t fit the puzzle at all! The correct answer was “THE NEXT GENERATION.” You can watch his hilarious mistake here:
More Embarrassing Mistakes
Matt’s not alone in making a humiliating mistake on Wheel of Fortune. Since the show’s premiere in 1975, there have been many memorable blunders.
In 2017, a contestant named Kevin was so close to solving the puzzle, “A STREETCAR NA_ED DESIRE.” He only needed one letter. When it was his turn, he guessed, “Naked,” instead of “Named.” Everyone laughed, but of course, the correct answer was “A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.”
In 2009, Lolita McAuley from Sacramento, California, participated in a speed round. In this round, letters appear randomly, and the first person to buzz in can guess the answer. The puzzle was: S_LF-PO_T_ _ _T under the category “Thing.”
Lolita buzzed in and guessed, “SELF-POTATO.” It was funny but incorrect. The right answer was “SELF-PORTRAIT.”
In 2014, Julian, a University of Indiana student, was close to winning $1 million. He needed to say “mythological hero Achilles” but mispronounced it as “AY-chill-es” instead of “AH-kil-ies.” Later, he needed to solve “WORLD’S FASTEST A_.” He guessed “c” instead of “man.”
And when he had to make an “on-the-spot decision,” he guessed, “On-the-spot dicespin,” which didn’t make any sense.
Do you think Matt’s mistake was as big as these others? Share your thoughts in the comments below!