Probably the worst guess in Wheel of Fortune history

If you were the contest winner or even if you just did okay, you would want everyone to see the show. But what if you made a huge mistake? How would you react? Shall you hide your face in shame or laugh?

Matt’s Big Blunder

Matt, a Wheel of Fortune contestant, made what might be the worst mistake in the show’s history. He gave an elaborate performance and won $23,350. Yet, his big error overshadowed the entire episode.

The goal in this round was to complete a word puzzle quickly. The puzzle was three words in the category “people.” Matt had two options: guess a letter or the entire sentence. He chose to guess the letter “N.” The puzzle then looked like this: N_ T – _ N _ R _ T _ _ N TH_.

Matt needed a moment to figure it out. To everyone’s surprise, he guessed “The Greatest Buttercut.” This answer didn’t even contain an “N.” The correct answer was “THE NEXT GENERATION.” You can see the amusing error here.

More Humiliating Mistakes

Matt isn’t the only Wheel of Fortune participant to make a big mistake. Since the show started in 1975, many funny errors have happened.

Kevin’s “Naked” Surprise

In 2017, Kevin faced a puzzle: “A STREETCAR NA_ED DESIRE.” He just needed one more letter. He guessed “Naked,” to everyone’s surprise. 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 under 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.” 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.” He ended with a weak guess of “On-the-spot dicespin” in the “things” category.