This 47-letter puzzle on 'Wheel of Fortune' still stands out as an iconic TV moment 20 years later
With a run of more than 42 seasons, "Wheel Of Fortune" has become a show that has reached most American households and become an essential part of pop culture. It has become a platform where contestants use their knowledge and luck to solve puzzles, which are legendary in their own right. Recently, a discussion on Reddit sparked a debate about the most legendary puzzle and there was a 47-letter-long winner.
Long puzzles on Wheel of Fortune represent a time when the show was more experimental, and creative. Back in the 90s, the show included categories that added extra layers of excitement by producing some of the toughest puzzles on the board. On the Reddit forum dedicated to the show, one user took fans back to the time when the show featured a puzzle of 47 letter tiles.
In the episode from 2003, the puzzle was presented in the Bonus Category titled “Who Is It?” In this category, contestants had to figure out the puzzle which was a trivia question, and then answer it as well. The record-setting long puzzle read, “She Just Won A Seventh U.S. Figure Skating Championship,” with the answer being two-time Olympic medalist “Michelle Kwan.”
This game was featured on "Wheel Of Fortune" from 1990 and was finally retired in 2008. With the popularity of the feature, it seems like the fans miss the unique challenge that tested the contestant's puzzle-solving skills and trivia knowledge. Thus, on the forum, fans also expressed the desire for the Bonus Category to return.
The discussion forum reminded fans of several other long puzzles as well. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a puzzle with this many letters. 44 out of 52 spaces filled in,” one fan wrote alongside a photo of the four-word “Showbiz” puzzle. The special puzzle was from Season 40 which read “SPECTACULA INTERNATIONAL BOX OFFICE BLOCKBUSTER.”
In the forum, fans suggested that before 2004, a puzzle from the April Fool’s Day special in 1997, was the most iconic one. It was probably the longest word ever featured on the show. Under the category, “Really Long Title,” the puzzle read “SUPERCALI-FRAGILISTIC-EXPIALIDOCIOUS.” The word had to be hyphenated for it to be split into three separate lines and fit on the board.
Another iconic long puzzle that lives in the memories of fans was featured on the show back in 1995. With a young Pat Sajak running the game, the puzzle read, "THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT."
The big 45-tile puzzle confused the contestant Terry Warden, who kept spinning the wheel to guess consonants after consonants. There was a point when all the other players had caught on, except for the one guessing the answer. By the end of the puzzle, the contestant racked up a whopping $62,400, something unheard of in the show's history. It would have been the single largest one-round win but Terry failed to guess it. Another contestant got the answer in the end, with Terry missing out on creating history.
“Oh, boy. Well! There’s an ironic puzzle there, isn’t it? My goodness," Sajak said after the puzzle was finally solved.
