Wheel of Fortune Goes Viral (Again) After Contestants Hilariously Struggle With Easy Puzzle

Wheel of Fortune has once again achieved viral infamy on social media, after a recent trio of contestants hilariously struggled with a seemingly easy answer to a puzzle that was, at best, an intermediate challenge. The puzzle in question was in the category "What Are You Doing?" and the answer was "Renting A Pedal Boat" (referring to the group or couples' water leisure activity). The guesswork on that reference went all the way down to the final letter (the "L" in "Pedal"), with the contestants even then struggling just to complete it. 

Check out the absurdity for yourself, in this clip from Wheel of Fortune:

The problem here was clearly that the contestants collectively got the word "Paddle Boat" stuck in their minds, and couldn't get it out again. It's one of the easiest ways that Wheel of Fortune tends to trip up contestants: by using the missing letters in words to throw off a guess. 

That said, this was also one of those moments that (I can personally attest) had a lot of Wheel fans screaming at their TV screens. Things really hit the breaking point in the final round (where only the "L" in "Pedal Boat" remained unturned) when the contestants' guesses began to defy any and all logic of word association. One contestant, Michelle, guessed letter "M", as if "Pedam Boat" would work; the next contestant, Crystal, completely jumped the shark with a guess of "W". A "Pedaw Boat?" 

When Sean finally solved the puzzle on the next round, Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak took a quick second (possibly to shake off his own bewilderment) to educate the contestants (and we the audience) on what a "Pedal Boat" is. Which is to say: literally the kind of boat you sit in and peddle with your feet. 

Wheel of Fortune is becoming a bizarre sort of social barometer – possibly a satire. The gameshow keeps going viral for examples of contestants' collective ignorance or failing logic. A recent example was the phrase "Another Feather In Your Cap", which apparently has become so obscure that the trio of contestants stumbled their way through the entire solving process. That awkward sequence went viral and invited so much mockery that Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak actually defended the contestants in public:

"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," Sajak posted. "...."Good-natured laughter is one thing. Heck, they laughed at themselves. But, hey, cut them some slack. Unless you're there, you have no idea how different it is in the studio. I have fun with players and I tease them occasionally, but when things go wrong, I feel for them, and I try to salve the wounds on camera and off. So, yeah, it was an oddly entertaining puzzle and it's okay to laugh at the situation. But have a little heart. After all, you may be there one day. And no one wants to be trending on Twitter."

Wonder if Sajak will have to once again settle unruly fans now that this "Pedal Boat" incident is blowing up online...

Wheel of Fortune airs nightly. Check you local listings.