Wheel Of Fortune Puzzle Turns Heads Online, Stumps Viewers Who Try To Guess It
Note: We are republishing this story, which originally made headlines in May 2017.
Sometimes, all it takes is one perfectly baffling moment on TV to unite the internet in collective confusion and laughter. That’s exactly what happened when a “Wheel of Fortune” puzzle left fans scratching their heads, social media users scrambling to guess the answer, and even the show’s producers reveling in the unexpected viral fame.
It started innocently enough—just another evening of America’s long-running game show. The board slowly filled with letters, eventually revealing a nearly complete phrase that still somehow made no sense. A podcast host caught the moment, snapped a screenshot, and posted it to Twitter with a simple caption. Within hours, the tweet had exploded, racking up over 40,000 likes and 13,000 retweets.
But it wasn’t just the puzzle that caught people’s attention—it was the endless stream of hilarious guesses that followed.
Internet Tries—and Fails Spectacularly—to Solve It
As soon as the image hit Twitter, users across the country chimed in with their best (and worst) attempts to solve the puzzle. Guesses ranged from the slightly plausible to the absurdly hilarious:
“Suck it dork,” “Duck at work,” “Lick it fork,” “Pick at pork,” and even the completely off-the-rails “Return to Zork.”
Some guesses were a little too risqué to print, while others had people wondering if the puzzle was even real. The tweet quickly took on a life of its own as users shared their alternate punchlines, each more ridiculous than the last.
One Twitter user summed it up best:
“I really appreciate all the replies and quote tweets of this with alternate jokes. Can’t get enough of it!”
Another tweeted:
“I hate that show, but this is funny.”
What made it so entertaining was how universal the confusion was. People who hadn’t watched Wheel of Fortune in years couldn’t resist jumping in, caught up in the sheer fun of watching strangers misread a puzzle together.
The Real Answer? Much Simpler Than You Think
Despite the chaos online, the actual contestant on the show solved the puzzle in under a minute.
The correct answer?
“Back at work.”
Plain, ordinary, anticlimactic—and perhaps the most disappointing reveal for those who had hoped for something more outrageous. But by then, the internet had already made it into something far more entertaining than a simple workplace-related phrase.
Other Wild Moments from the Same Season
As it turns out, this wasn’t even the only time that year Wheel of Fortune went viral. The show, which has aired for decades with minimal changes, suddenly became a hot topic online thanks to a string of hilarious contestant blunders.
In March, a contestant named Kevin made an unforgettable mistake that had even host Pat Sajak chuckling. Faced with the nearly-complete phrase:
“A STREETCAR NA_ED DESIRE,”
Kevin confidently asked for the letter K, unintentionally suggesting the title:
“A Streetcar Naked Desire.”
Even Sajak couldn’t resist the joke:
“And although you got the right answer, I’d rather see Kevin’s play,” he said, drawing laughs from the audience.
Social media users had a field day:
“Dude asked for a K. I’m gonna go lie down,” tweeted one viewer.
“Nothing’s funnier to me than Wheel of Fortune fails. Unlike Jeopardy, it’s literally spelled out for you,” added another.
And Then There Was “Popsicle Bike”
Just a few weeks later, another contestant stepped into the spotlight for a truly unforgettable guess. The puzzle read:
“O_EYS_CK_E B_S”
under the category Living Things.
The contestant blurted out: “Popsicle bike.”
The audience fell silent for a moment—was that even a thing? The correct answer was “Honeysuckle bush,” but by then, “popsicle bike” had earned a spot in Wheel of Fortune legend.
Even the contestant admitted later, “I don’t know what I was saying. Maybe I saw the ‘K’ and just panicked. My daughter told me afterward, ‘That’s going to be all over.’”
And it was.
Why We Love These Moments
There’s something oddly comforting about these viral moments. They remind us that even under pressure, even on national TV, we’re all just human. We misread things. We jump to conclusions. We say “popsicle bike” when our brains freeze.
These hilarious mishaps turn Wheel of Fortune from a passive game show into a national pastime—a chance for everyone to laugh, guess, and maybe even feel a little better about our own brain fog.
So the next time a contestant asks for a “K” where there clearly should be a “M,” just smile, take a guess, and enjoy the ride. Because in the world of Wheel of Fortune, the only thing more fun than winning… is watching someone else make TV gold by getting it gloriously wrong.
