When the television game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? debuted in the U.S. in 2002, it was instantly a hit. The game show, an adaptation of the British program with the same title, featured host and beloved television personality Regis Philbin asking contestants a series of multiple choice questions. Each right answer was worth money as contestants hoped to make it to the million dollar grand prize.
But of course some people crack under pressure, resulting in some pretty hilarious brain farts. Sometimes the only logical answers were staring contestants in the face, but even still, people slip up, making for some pretty funny fails.
We all have embarrassing moments. Unfortunately for these people, there's were screened on television (and YouTube). Check out the best Millionaire fails in these funny videos below.
During an episode of Australia's spin-off of the popular quiz show, Millionaire Hot Seat, contestant Whitney Beseler proved she doesn't have diamonds on the brain. Instead she was thinking of burgers.
The Contiki tour manager slipped up in the first question (the easiest!) when asked, "Which of these is not a piece of jewelry commonly worn to symbolize a relationship between two people?" Beseler confidently locked in the wrong answer. From the choice of: anniversary ring, engagement ring, wedding ring and burger ring, the contestant chose burger ring.
"Oh My god. Burger ring, oh my god. That's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me," she says.
During the 10th Anniversary episode of Millionaire back in 2009 in the U.S., contestant Ken Basin had probably one of the worst times of his life. Basin lost A LOT of money during his time on the show, answering the million dollar question super confidently and super wrong.
Guess he should have stuck to Jeopardy!
During this 2009 Millionaire fail, a contestant uses the Double Dip lifeline during his $25,000 question that asked, "How many U.S. states have names that begin with the word 'New'?" After giving the wrong answer, he tries to walk away, only to find in horror that he can't. What's worse is the clock runs out before he can give a second answer, going home with only $1,000.
This college student should have gotten enough sleep so that his brain would stay alert during his time on Millionaire. Contestant Chase Sampson answered his first question wrong after being asked about why homeowners buy surge protectors. While it obviously wasn't buyer's remorse, it surely wasn't water flow.
The audience proved to be the worst in a fail that cost one contestant some serious cash. When asked what the "M" stands for in "RMS Titanic," a whopping 91 percent answered monarch. While contestant David believed that anything over 80 percent is passing, he only took $1,000 home because of the audience mistake.
Just because you live in the Land Down Under, doesn't mean you know your wild animals. In another hilarious fail from Millionaire Hot Seat in Australia, Nova FM host Wippa went home before getting to $1,000 after slipping up on a pretty simple question. When asked, "What is a 'pecan'?" he answered tropical bird before realizing that he was thinking of a toucan. The trolling continues by host Eddie McGuire after it seems that Wippa really didn't know what a pecan is.
[Photo Credit: Donna Simmons/YouTube]
