'Wheel of Fortune' player solves puzzle with just a single letter in one of the wildest TV moments ever
Apart from luck, “Wheel of Fortune” is also a game that tests a contestant’s puzzle-solving skills. While some take time to understand these puzzles, others can crack them a lot quicker. However, only a handful of individuals have ever needed a single letter to solve a puzzle consisting of multiple words. One such contestant was a woman named Caitlin who appeared on an earlier episode of the show. Pat Sajak was still the host at this point and the contestant solved a puzzle with just one letter, leaving everyone stunned into silence.
The puzzle consisted of seven letters and Caitlin first guessed the letter L. It was present in only one place in the phrase and everyone expected the letter-guessing to continue for a bit longer. However that was not the case, Caitlin asked Sajak out of the blue, “Can I solve?” The veteran host was left speechless for a little while before he said, “Okay.”
With all the confidence in the world, the contestant said, “I’ve got a good feeling about this.” It turned out that was the correct answer. Sajak walked up to her and just stood in silence for a few seconds as she celebrated. “What did I win?” she asked. “Wait a minute, why don’t you let me get over this first before you…how did you…,” the host asked.
“I had a good feeling about it,” Caitlin replied which drew laughter from the studio audience and the host. Her prize was then revealed to be an all-expense paid trip to the Caribbean island of Grenada with a stay at the La Source luxury spa and resort. The whole package was worth $6468. “Is it just me or was that the most amazing solve we’ve ever had?” Sajak asked after the prize was announced. Well, it certainly was one of the greatest in the show’s long history.
Caitlin isn’t the only “Wheel of Fortune” contestant who used only one letter to solve a puzzle. The same feat was achieved by another contestant named Scott, who also appeared in an earlier episode of the show in which Sajak was the host. Scott was solving a puzzle in the Fictional Characters category. Before he guessed his letter, the puzzle already had a ‘-’ and ‘&’ revealed. Maybe that made things a bit easier for him as he guessed the first letter.
The contestant said ‘S’ and it was the first letter for each word in the puzzle. He then decided to solve and Sajak informed him that there was a jackpot of $7000 to be won if he got it right. Scott certainly knew his cartoons as he confidently said, “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo.” That was indeed the correct answer and he won the jackpot prize money.
“I have just one thing to say to you,” the host of the show said before imitating dog sounds to represent the popular cartoon character that the contestant had named. In hindsight, it might not have been that hard once the first letters of the two words were revealed but to have that presence of mind is impressive.
