On Wednesday night, Frank and Laurel made it to the final round of Wheel of Fortune and selected “Food and Drink” as their final category. What ensued is so darn painful.
‘Wheel of Fortune’ broke this contestant’s heart and cost him $1 million
It’s not his fault.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The duo lost $1 million by answering “fried zucchini” instead of the correct “baked zucchini,” and you know what — I think they were robbed.
We need to start by getting the elephant of the room: Frank and Laurel should have realized that “R” was given to them at the start of the final puzzle. It’s been a staple since 1988 that contestants always get “R, S, T, L, N, E.” However, a casual watcher of the show might not know this. Furthermore, host Pat Sajak, used to saying the letters every single day breezes through exceptionally quickly — especially on the front end. It took him just 0.24 seconds to say “R, S, T,” which is could easily explain why the letters didn’t register with the contestants.
Now we need to talk about the big problem here: Who the hell bakes zucchini? Frank and Laurel lost by choosing fried over baked, which is without question the preferred zucchini cooking method. Don’t get me wrong, I love some roasted vegetables — but when was the last time you heard of sticking a bunch of zucchini in the oven?
The only reason baked zucchini is a thing at all is because people hollow it out and try to substitute it for potato in a potato skin recipe. Then they lie to themselves about how it “tastes just like potato!” when it doesn’t.
I’ll wager Frank has never baked a zucchini in his life. I’ll also wager he’s had hibachi somewhere and seen a person frying zucchini on a flat top, like a normal human.
I’m not saying Wheel of Fortune was rigged, because that’s ridiculous and I’m not a conspiracy theorist. What I am saying, is that the cards were stacked against Frank and Laurel from the jump. Sajak saying the letters quickly and them believing zucchini is best fried (like God intended), created the perfect storm to break their hearts and I’m sorry to see it happen.
I don’t have a million dollars, Frank. But if you’re reading this you have an open invitation to eat fried zucchini with me.
See More:
