‘Wheel of Fortune’ Player Makes Ryan Seacrest Trip Over His Words With Stunning Puzzle Solve
Wheel of Fortune contestants need not win the game to have their episode’s show-stopping moment. Such was the case on Tuesday, December 4, when a contestant named Layvin Mangnane pulled off such an unexpected puzzle solve that it sent Ryan Seacrest into a linguistic tailspin.
During the match, opponent Patty Spano pulled far ahead and won out with $26,800 in cash and a prize trip to Savannah, Georgia. Right before that, at the end of the game, the players faced the triple-toss-up puzzles under the “Around The House” category. The third puzzle was two words. Mangnane selected a “T” and an “L,” and the puzzle was displayed as “_ L _ _ T _ _ _ T _ _ T _ _ _ _ _ _.”
Despite just four letters being up, Layvin opted to solve the puzzle. “Electric Toothbrush,” he declared, which was the correct answer. The other players were blown away and Seacrest did not hide his shock. “How did you do that?” the host asked.
It was then time to dismiss Layvin and the other player who didn’t win thus not proceeding to the bonus round. Once more, Seacrest brought up the astounding solve and struggled to even get the words out. “Is it psychics’ week all of a sudden?” he asked. “How did you—yeah—good job. Great solve.”
A few fans who caught the blink-and-you miss it moment shared their reactions to the stunning solve on social media.
“Out of everything that’s happened today, I did not expect to be stopped mid-rant by a guy I knew from high school guessing “electric toothbrush” w/only 3 letters on Wheel of Fortune,” one X user wrote.
“Layvin, if you see this, thank you for making Ryan Seacrest go “howdidyoudothat?”. I forgot what I was even upset about,” they added.
Meanwhile, Seacrest is quickly growing into the role as the replacement for Pat Sajak after four decades for Season 42. His debut month was the strongest ratings month for WoF in the past three years, and viewers were already treated to a viral moment (via a round of sausage). That said, there have been some questionable host moments as he’s found his footing.
In September, Seacrest suffered what fans dubbed his “first blooper”, involving a delayed reaction to rewarding a bonus round. Last month, controversy sparked when the host didn’t remind a player to pick a letter, leading to him losing the game in a misunderstanding and by a mere $147. Seacrest seemingly doesn’t have all intricacies down Pat, another misunderstanding causing a player to instantly forfeit a $1m wedge.
Another puzzling pattern had just emerged, which is that no player had won the bonus round in a full week, many fans blaming the players, not the host. The curse was lifted by Spano, who aced her bonus puzzle as “Burger Joint” winning a Ford Explorer.
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