A recent “Wheel of Fortune” episode has left many fans in amused disbelief and—in some cases—shocked after contestants failed to solve a puzzle after multiple tries.
A clip of the now-viral moment shows a contestant named Laura Machado tasked with solving the puzzle, “An_ther feather _n y_ _ r _ a_.”
She bought the vowel “O,” completing the words “another” and “your.”
Many viewers would think she’d have it in the bag by then, but that wasn’t the case. Machado offered to solve and said, “Another feather in your hat.”
Most people know the idiomatic expression “Another feather in your cap,” which is used to highlight an achievement or success. However, Machado appeared to have never heard of the seemingly common phrase—Or maybe it was just nerves. In fairness, it’s quite different when you’re put on the spot and feel the pressure.
The buzzer rang, signaling she had entered the wrong answer. After losing her first chance to solve the puzzle, the opportunity moved to player Christopher Coleman, who also incorrectly guessed that the puzzle had the letter “G.”
Host Pat Sajak then moved to the third contestant, Thomas Lipscomb, who spun the wheel but landed on “Bankrupt.” The game then circled back to Machado, who once again guessed the wrong answer when she said, “Another feather in your lap.”
Sajak quipped with a joke, “Oh, the feather is moving around.”
It was Coleman’s turn again, and on his second guess, he tried a “D,” but unfortunately, the puzzle didn’t have that letter.
Lipscomb lost his second try as the wheel point ended up on “Lose your turn.” Machado added another letter to the puzzle, a “P,” before attempting to solve it for the third time. However, the additional letter didn’t help.
“Another feather in your map?” she guessed, the incorrect buzzer sounding off again.
Coleman lost his third attempt at the puzzle when he got bankrupt, at which point Lipscomb correctly guessed that the puzzle had a “C” before answering with, “Another feather in your cap.”
“There you go!” Sajak, 75, said. Lipscomb solved the puzzle and won the contest. It took Lipscomb two minutes, eight turns and ten attempts to solve the puzzle before the round was over.
The clip quickly spread on social media. Many users were amused by the moment.
A Twitter user named @WheelRob tweeted: “I’d like to solve… ANOTHER FEATHER IN EVERYTHING BUT YOUR CAP. Thank you, Wheel, for not editing out six of these eight lost turns in a row like you normally would.”
Actor Josh Gad also shared his thoughts about the episode.
“God help us all,” he tweeted alongside a video of him giggling while watching the controversial scene.
“A woman on Wheel of Fortune got this puzzle wrong three times. I’m yelling at the television like I’m watching a football game,” said another Twitter user.
Sajak quickly defended the contestants. He said:
“It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry.”
He added, “But mocking them online and calling them names? These are good people in a bad situation under a kind of stress that you can’t begin to appreciate from the comfort of your couch.”
Lipscomb and Players Coleman took this opportunity to thank Sajak via Twitter.
“Thank you for being an incredible & integral host, Pat!” wrote Coleman. “I appreciate you encouraging others not to throw stones from glass houses.”
Lipscomb also had nothing but praise for the host.
“Pat, I was on the show last night and had so much fun. Thanks for being an awesome person on tv and in person!” he said.
The video below shows the now-viral Wheel of Fortune moment.
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