We all love a good game show. They can be fun to watch, a good time-waster, or downright crazy. They’ve been an American staple since the introduction of the game show in the 1930’s, when a spelling-bee show would begin to air on radios across the country.
However, with every popular thing out there, game shows have had their moments in the past. Whether that’s controversy due to unfair rulings or unsettling moments that make you question your reality, this popular genre of TV has seen it all.
Here are five of the strangest, most head-scratching moments in modern game show history.
5: When a fugitive of the law (Kerry Ketchem, left) went on Super Password– and won the biggest prize in the game’s history.
He got caught after trying to cash-in his 50k+ large prize…
4: When serial killer Rodney Alcala won the dating show, without anyone knowing who he actually was
He ended up getting rejected in the after-show after contestant Cheryl Bradshaw stated he came off as weird or unsettling. She probably saved her life that day…
3: 12 year-old Jeopardy! contestant Thomas Hurley misspelled the right answer, leading to him losing the game.
It caused a social media outrage following its airing.
2: When Whammy contestant Michael Larson managed to memorize the seemingly “random” game code by watching the show for months on end, winning the highest earnings in game history.
He would later lose his earnings (valuing over 300k in 2022 currency) in real estate, get arrested for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme, lose his wife, and die of throat cancer at age 49.
Wow…
1: When law student Khaled El-Katateny managed to win an entire game of Millionaire Hot Seat simply by reading the host’s body language
Apparently he didn’t know any of the answers to begin with…
