# Wheel of Fortune 12/21/2021 WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [December 22, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446 "2021-12-22T01:38:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/1 "2021-12-22T01:38:21Z")
Wow! Just wow! I know rules is rules but this woman got butt invaded. Royal screwing starts @ 16:45 [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_UR6F6dOno) ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/2 "2021-12-22T01:49:11Z")
Yeah, wow. They buzzed her really quickly. At least the NFL has a replay review option. Maybe Pat wanted the Audi that was the prize. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/3 "2021-12-22T02:04:27Z")
They didn’t rip her off because of the buzzer. They boned her because they said her pause was too long between saying “right” and “word”. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/4 "2021-12-22T02:11:13Z")
It wasn’t just that they dinged her with this odd rule, it was the nonchalant way he then told her what she missed out on - that seemed really “off” to me. He then seemed to catch himself - at the very end he said “we’ll be back, we’ll talk a little more about this”, is it possible they will review the decision? Was this just braodcast, have you seen the end of the show? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2021, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/5 "2021-12-22T02:19:13Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > ``` > is it possible they will review the decision? Was this just braodcast, have you seen the end of the show? > > ``` Yes I did. It’s not on the video I linked to but I have it on my DVR. Pat starts talking like a man with a paper ass running through a forest fire about why there are rules and such. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/6 "2021-12-23T13:27:12Z")
Audi gave her a Q3. > **[Audi Gives 'Wheel of Fortune' Contestant a Car After Fan Outrage](https://www.newsweek.com/audi-gives-wheel-fortune-contestant-car-fan-outrage-charlene-rubush-1662519)** > > Audi USA has swooped in to give "Wheel of Fortune" contestant Charlene Rubush a set of new wheels after she was denied the prize on a technicality. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/7 "2021-12-23T15:53:12Z")
I saw that one. Glad she got the car. That’s funny - “card” fits as well, and considering the season, isn’t it even more “right”? How often I wonder do they have ambiguous puzzles that admit more than one solution with the letters exposed? At least in the final you can change your answer. If this were in the main game, I bet I’d feel cheated. It seems the rule should be there aren’t two equally-valid solutions. And yes, I remember “More fun that a barrel full of Vikings”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/8 "2021-12-23T15:56:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > “card” fits as well How do you figure that? The clue was “What are you doing?” I thought that was one of their better ones. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/9 "2021-12-23T16:09:01Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > How do you figure that? The clue was “What are you doing?” > I thought that was one of their better ones. “What are you doing” means an action as opposed to an object. You don’t have to be doing it at that minute. 🙂 It also means a free “i” and “g”, because nearly 100% contain a gerund. And during the holiday season, many are trying to choose the right card. Both C and A, and W and O were in the unused letter board. Both solutions work, save for the fact one was right and the other was not. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/10 "2021-12-23T16:23:10Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You don’t have to be doing it at that minute. That’s debatable. I think something that describes what you are doing right now is a much _better_ answer to the question. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/11 "2021-12-23T23:13:08Z")
I mean, by the logic of her not winning, the correct answer was “choosing the right phrase”, since she chose the right word but didn’t win because apparently that’s not enough. Count me as someone who thinks that’s a bonkers rule to have and they should just get rid of it. There’s already a time limit. Would anyone know that you have to repeat the thing you already said? I’ve paused that long in actual conversation when I can’t quite come up with the right word, and then when I find it, I say it, because I assume that whomever I’m talking to can remember how I started my sentence those long 6 seconds ago. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/12 "2021-12-23T23:45:30Z")
When it comes to something like this, I would think they would want to err on the side of giving a prize away. No one’s watching a game show for their complex rule book and nuanced judgements. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/13 "2021-12-24T00:24:48Z")
I suppose we can’t rule out the possibility that the whole thing was scripted to draw attention to the show. Or, in less of a conspiracy theory, that the contestant is not in on it, but that they have a deliberate plan to be dicks about rigidly enforcing a rule if the opportunity arises, gain a lot of outraged publicity, then reverse their decision and give the prize. I mean, this is the first time I’ve looked at a Wheel Of Fortune clip in years. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2021, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/14 "2021-12-24T01:56:33Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Or, in less of a conspiracy theory, that the contestant is not in on it, but that they have a deliberate plan to be dicks about rigidly enforcing a rule if the opportunity arises, gain a lot of outraged publicity, then reverse their decision and give the prize. But it wasn’t the show who ended up giving the contestant the car, it was Audi. Wheel is still a dick. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/15 "2021-12-27T11:32:59Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I suppose we can’t rule out the possibility that the whole thing was scripted to draw attention to the show. A scripted game show would be a major scandal just like it was 60+ years ago. Nah, they’re just being dicks. They’ve boned people before for e tre ely nit pick reasons. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/16 "2021-12-27T11:43:16Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > No one’s watching a game show for their complex rule book and nuanced judgements. And yet game shows have just such rules. I mean, that’s the entire premise of _Jeopardy_: it’s not enough that you say the right answer, you have to say the right answer _phrased as a question_ (like the rules say). ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/17 "2021-12-27T13:17:31Z")
Yeah but this case is ridiculous. I think a lot of people don’t like Pat and listening to him blabble about the rules made him even more unlikeable. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/18 "2021-12-27T16:24:35Z")
It seems like Wheel regularly dings contestants with very picky rules. I see news about it several times a year. I understand every game has rules. It seems like Wheel goes overboard. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/19 "2021-12-27T16:24:57Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > for e tre ely nit pick reasons. Are we supposed to guess what letters are missing there? ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune-12-21-2021-wtf/956446/20 "2021-12-27T17:24:23Z")
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