Indiana University honors student Julian Batts might the luckiest unlucky ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ contestant ever. During Friday night’s episode, Julian had an easy chance to win a trip to London and a shot at the show’s million dollar prize. Unfortunately, with a fully solved puzzle, Batts failed to pronounce the name ‘Achilles’ correctly. During the show’s ‘Prize Puzzle’, Julian had another easy chance to win a Chevy Sonic and a trip to Jamaica, but failed. By the end of the game he was making up words, ‘dicespin’. Surprisingly, Julian made it to the ‘Bonus Round Puzzle’ [not shown] but was unsuccessful.
The recent discussion of Julian Batts as the ‘Worst Wheel of Fortune Player’ of all time has made me nostalgic for my own time on the show. I must admit that I did not see Julian’s episode myself. I was out of the country at the time and only learned about it when my mother caught me up to speed upon my return. Meet Julian Batts, a freshman from Indiana University that is without a doubt the worst contestant in 'Wheel Of Fortune' history; after not one, but three epic blunders. In the first round, Julian literally had the entire puzzle ('Mythological Hero Achilles') filled in with a chance to win $12,600 and a shot at a million dollars in the bonus round.
Game show contestants have to overcome a lot in order to emerge from the experience unscathed. There's money at stake, pressure to win, and just the general stress of being on television for what's probably the first and only time in their lives. It's not surprising, in other words, when the stress makes them screw up big time. Thankfully, the internet grants these moments immortality, and we found some of the best ones.
The worst Wheel of Fortune contestant ever
A lot of the contestants covered here are responsible for one viral moment that's enough to make them wish they'd never strapped on a name tag. But Indiana University honors student Julian Batts, a.k.a. the worst Wheel of Fortune contestant ever, put in an epically awful performance on the show that found him offering not one, not two, but three forehead-slapping answers. First, he flubbed the pronunciation of 'Achilles.' Fair enough—let's just assume he never studied Greek mythology and he isn't a Brad Pitt fan. Next, he blew an incredibly easy chance to win a car. Hey, maybe he prefers public transit. But his guess on the clue '_N-TH_-SP_T-D_C_S__N' was 'ON-THE-SPOT-DICESPIN!' This guy thinks 'dice spin' is one word—and he also thinks you spin dice. Perhaps he believes people are just randomly shooting Craps everywhere? No way he graduated from college. There's just no way.
Wheel Decide
Another massive Wheel of Fortune fail
With three letters remaining in the clue 'E_CLUSI_E NI_HTCLUB,' contestant Casey, who is apparently woefully lonely on Saturday nights, decides to spin again. Every hardcore wheel watcher knows she's playing with fire, but she lucks out, guesses the 'G' and somehow still doesn't know the answer. She spins again. Casey is playing the game show equivalent of Russian Roulette at this point. The wheel barely makes it one peg past Bankrupt. This is complete insanity. 'A 'K!' she guesses. No, Casey. Just no. Pat Sajak is literally speechless, and televisions all over the country are pelted with flying remotes.
The moon is not a planet
Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? often proves that the answer to its titular question is 'No. I'm actually probably not even as smart as a fifth grader's desk.' Here we witness the unforgettable foolishness of one poor contestant who was asked to name a planet and responded 'the moon.' To justify her response, eh can only point out that her logic has always been unsound, so why change now? That's kind of refreshing. It was at least an honest response, albeit a frightening one considering this woman presumably drives a car and can legally purchase a firearm. Ng slots 2020.
Mom and sister look right at family member and see only briefcase of cash
Wheel Of Fortune Bonus Puzzle
Deal or No Deal is the thrilling game show where people point at briefcases and then wait for the briefcases to be opened to see if they won. Amazingly, this concept needs a little punch up from time to time, so they add gimmicks like having a contestant's sister pose as one of the briefcase models. Unfortunately, her face isn't made of stacks of cash, so not only did the contestant not even recognize her, neither did their mother from the sidelines. Yeesh. Even if they win the million, that's going to make for an awkward flight home.
Kara's mind was in the gutter
Maybe Jeopardy! contestant Kara immediately tuned out when this question started out like one of those mind-numbing math problems— 'If Andy yearns for Brenda, and Brenda cares about Charlene..' But she definitely perked up when it took an erotic turn at the end— '..who pines for Andy, the 3 of them form one of these.' She guessed, 'What is a threesome?' The answer was 'Love Triangle,' and Alex Trebek, a seasoned pro, went in for the kill. 'Kara has obviously had more experience than me,' he quipped. Trebek, you old scoundrel, you couldn't help yourself, could you? But wait, aren't Canadians supposed to be the polite ones?
Listening to the whole question before answering is key
Family Feud contestant Holly just wanted to win the faceoff to give her family the chance to pass or play, so she didn't even let Steve Harvey finish the question before slapping her buzzer and blurting out, 'Changes his diaper!' Unfortunately, the full question was 'What does a woman do for her baby that she also does for her husband?' Unless lots of the 100 people surveyed for that question happened to be live-in playmates at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion, there's no way that was going to be the number one answer.
Some couples are truly made for each other
Nbc Wheel Of Fortune Today
The Newlywed Game hangs its entire premise on the uncomfortable reality that couples may not know each other as well as they think they do. In Gloria and Joe's case, this couldn't be further from the truth. When asked, 'How many decades will your husband say his mother has lived?' Gloria visibly realizes the trouble her husband, Joe, would have with this answer, and yet, she confidently states 'Ten decades.' The audience laughs like this is ridiculous, but then Joe comes back out. He not only says, 'I don't know what a decade is,' but then stunningly gives the matching answer. Joe, if you're reading this, take this advice: Hold onto Gloria and never let her go. You will never find a woman who understands and accepts you like she does.
It's a good thing Kellie Pickler can sing
Julian Batts Wheel Of Fortune 500
Kellie Pickler's Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? appearance is kind of legendary. There was the amazing reasoning that led her to correctly guess that Franklin Pierce was a president: 'Because I have my ears pierced.' Then there was her abject fear of counting how many Es are in the word 'watermelon.' But the pinnacle of Pickler's performance came after she was asked to identify the European nation whose capital city is Budapest. Her answers ranged from 'I thought Europe was a country' to 'I never even heard of that' to 'I know they speak French there' to 'Is France even a country?' Host Jeff Foxworthy eventually stepped in to guide her to just 'cheat' off of her fifth grader partner, who correctly answered Hungary. Jeff and Kellie then proceeded to repeatedly pronounce it 'Hungry,' as the ten-year-olds on stage looked at each other in amazement. It's not every day that you get to witness a child's realization that many adults are morons. This is one of those times.