Imagine you’re on Wheel of Fortune. You’ve done pretty well, and you’re excited for everyone to see the show. But what if you made a massive mistake? Would you hide in embarrassment or laugh it off?
Matt’s Big Blunder
Matt, a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, made one of the most memorable mistakes in the show’s history. He had given a fantastic performance, winning $23,350. But his big error stole the spotlight.
In one round, the goal was to solve a word puzzle quickly. The puzzle had three words in the “people” category. Matt could either guess a letter or solve the whole puzzle. He chose to guess the letter “N.” The puzzle then looked like this: N_ T – _ N _ R _ T _ _ N TH_.
After thinking for a moment, Matt surprised everyone by guessing, “The Greatest Buttercut.” The answer didn’t even have an “N” in it! The correct answer was “THE NEXT GENERATION.” It was a hilarious mistake that left everyone laughing.
More Humiliating Mistakes
Matt isn’t the only one to make a funny error on Wheel of Fortune. Since the show began in 1975, there have been many amusing blunders.
Kevin’s “Naked” Surprise
In 2017, Kevin faced a puzzle that read: “A STREETCAR NA_ED DESIRE.” He just needed one more letter. To everyone’s surprise, he guessed “Naked.” The correct answer was “A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.”
Lolita’s “Self-Potato”
In 2009, Lolita McAuley from Sacramento, California, played in a speed round. The puzzle was in the “Thing” category: S_LF-PO_T_ _ _T. Lolita buzzed in and said, “SELF-POTATO.” The correct answer was “SELF-PORTRAIT.”
Julian’s Pronunciation Error
In 2014, Julian, a University of Indiana student, was close to winning $1 million. He needed to say “mythological hero Achilles.” But he mispronounced it as “AY-chill-es” instead of “AH-kil-ies.” Later, he had to guess “WORLD’S FASTEST A_.” He guessed “c” instead of “man.” Finally, in the “things” category, he weakly guessed “On-the-spot dicespin.”
These funny mistakes remind us that even in serious games, laughter is never far away.