‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Misses $68,000 Win After Not Knowing What Word Means
A Wheel of Fortune contestant lost out on a $68,000 win because she didn’t know what a word meant. The puzzle also left fans confused as they asked, “Who says that?”
Amy Johnston, from Schertz, Texas, played against Misha Graves, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Jon Reinink, from Indianapolis, Indiana. Their episode reaired on August 20 during the game show‘s summer reruns, having first been broadcast on Wednesday, May 21.
By the end of the game, Johnston had a total of $28,539 and a trip to Lake Tahoe. With the most money out of all three contestants, she advanced to the Bonus Round.
Johnston brought her parents and middle daughter, Kayla, with her to the bonus round, which she chose “What Are You Doing?” After being given “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” she chose “G,C,M, and O” to round out her puzzle.
It then looked like “_ _ _ _ NG _T O_ER NO_.” As the clock counted down, Johnston, an opening act for an Elvis impersonator, couldn’t figure out the first word. She guessed everything she could think of and ended by saying, “I got nothing.” It was revealed to be “Faxing it over now.” She lost out on an additional $40,000.
“Of course. I don’t even know what faxing means,” Johnston said.
Fans reacted to the puzzle in the YouTube comments, as they also didn’t know what it meant. “Who even says that? My 90-year-old grandma,” one wrote.
“When was the last time anyone FAXED anything?” asked another.
“Pretty sure until now, a lot of people forgot that at one point, things could be faxed over. This puzzle seemed a little cruel,” said a YouTuber user.
“Who says that anymore?” asked a fan.
“No one would have guessed that,” said another.
“Seriously? Faxing? Who’s going to guess that?” commented another.
“This one was ridiculous,” a Reddit user said.
“Faxing is such an old school word,” wrote another.
Wheel of Fortune, Season 43, September 8, check local listings
Spin That Wheel
Get absolutely everything about Wheel of Fortune in your inbox!
Conversation24 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Comments are closed on this story.
-
P
Doctors/medical places still FAX. Some places want a fax to get a hard copy in hand as "legal okay" while they wait for the final hard copy like banking/real estate, etc ...
37
-
E
Oh come on, I can see not getting the puzzle, but not even knowing what it means? She's not some twenty-year-old ingenue. Faxing might be old tech now, but she was around when it wasn't.
37
-
O
Doctor offices still use fax, actually lots of offices do
21
-
C
People still fax i actually have several of my clients that will only fax, they will not use email.
14
-
P
Same here. Most of my clients will only fax.
5
-
-
R
That's not what she said. "She said Of course. I EVEN KNOW what faxing means." It was a joke pointing at how some younger generations probably don't. Did you notice how the crowd and Ryan gave a chuckle?
10
-
P
That would make more sense.
2
-
-
C
True. I thought maybe it was a repeat. Anyway, what I wanna know is why people who go to the bonus round having selected what are you doing? Pick the letter G. It’s like they are so used to wanting to be right that they don’t want to guess a wrong letter. The G is obvious. Yes, I know that could be another one, but still – – – So I always think it’s a waste of a letter opportunity.
10 1
-
G
With the last words looking like "it over now," and knowing it's an action with the N where "ING" could reasonably be assumed, "G" was a waste of a guess (unless she thought there might be another?) In the her defense, however, given what was showing, it wasn't really obvious what letters SHOULD have been guessed.
8
-
G
I literally use the word fax every work day. She isn't as young as she's pretending to be lol.
7
-
C
Come on !! She’s not a baby boomer but neither genZ
4
-
G
If some different letters would have been chosen and more of some key words revealed, it was possible to get this. I certainly don't think this is as antiquated as some would want to believe.
This is what makes the Wheel what it is. Let's remember, it's a challenge and then a reward to win. It's not meant to be a participation trophy. Or is it ? And is it just me that missed that?
3
-
O
If F was revealed her chances would have been much higher. XD
1
-
R
That’s not right 😡. That’s like a puzzle reading ‘CRANKING THE CAR TO START’ or ‘DIALING UP THE INTERNET.’ They should rethink and either give her the $40,000 or at least bring her back with a chance at a new puzzle.
-
P
Old words are still words. I can understand if it's a new "trend" word or buzzword, but everyone should know what a fax is. Even if they haven't used one, it is something people know. Like a transistor radio, rotary phones or dial up modems.
-
P
I have customers fax things to my office every day.
-
S
I still use a fax and love it. I will say I started to use efax when we turned off our home phone line.
-
C
While people rarely fax today, she is NOT that young to not know that word.
-
P
Some still fax
-
B
Medical offices use faxes every single day, as do many law firms. Not so archsic!
-
O
Its funny that people act like faxing is so old. I have to fax crap to my boss all the time as she is in another State,. My Dr's offices still fax medical records, and requests for Prior Authorization, and Release of Info. Faxing isn't quite dead yet!
-
C
Well, it is a game show.
-
O
Nobody uses fax machines we dont live in a time where they use them ya a dr does but ya thats insane.
4
-
B
You have no idea what you are talking about
1
-
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services