The Hilarious 'Popsicle Bike' Moment on Wheel of Fortune

The Unforgettable Guess

A couple of contestants on Wheel of Fortune made a very funny gaffe when they answered 'Popsicle Bike' to a puzzle; fortunately, they were more than happy to provide the reasoning behind their guess. Even guessing game shows like Jeopardy have their share of accidental hilarious answers, and Wheel of Fortune is no different.

Melinda and Larry Gardner on screen on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The long-running game show hosted by Pat Sajak is often perfectly set up for some funny and ridiculous moments. One contestant may believe they have the right guess only to be completely wrong, and sometimes the most ridiculous phrase will be shouted out, resulting in unexpected hilarity. This is what happened on Wheel of Fortune's April 4th, 2017 episode. In the episode, three couples worked together to solve a slowly revealed puzzle before their competitor teams could. The clue was 'living thing' with two words, eleven spaces for the first and four for the second. When the puzzle solved to '_O_EYS_CK_E B_S_', the Gardner couple guessed 'POPSICLE BIKE' which among many things, is not a living thing. In fact, it's not even a thing. (The correct answer was 'HONEYSUCKLE BUSH'.) The crowd burst into laughter and Melinda and Larry giggled along, amused by their shot in the dark. Later, they were glad to explain their thinking.

The Wheel Of Fortune Contestant Guessed 'Popsicle Bike' Because She Needed To Be 'Cooled Off'. Melinda and Larry Gardner were invited onto the long-running late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! and gamely appeared over video to answer for their guess (via Facebook). 'Popsicle Bike' is not an intuitive solution to the puzzle, so Kimmel asked how Melinda came to the answer and she responded, I was wondering the same thing, and then I thought about it and said: Pat was on one side, and [husband Larry] was on the other, so I think I needed to be cooled off. So that's the first thing I thought about. Popsicle. And I couldn't figure out the second word, so I just said 'bike.'

So there's the mystery solved. Melinda wanted to cool off and thought 'popsicle', and 'bike' simply came to her from somewhere in the ether. While it's not the most logical reasoning, it's incredibly relatable to anyone who has froze trying to answer a question and simply blurted out whatever came to mind first. Larry mentioned how he was mostly there to spin the wheel, and Melinda was in charge of answering. Kimmel then went on to surprise the couple with a gift, a bicycle made entirely of popsicle sticks. The couple was delighted to receive the gift but were probably even happier knowing that when all was said and done, they had actually won their episode.

A bicycle made of popsicles on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

A post on Twitter(X)

Other Hilarious Moments on Wheel of Fortune

'Popsicle Bike' is not the only funny guess ever made on Wheel of Fortune. There are plenty of examples of contestants making an obvious mistake to the amusement of the crowd and Sajak. One of the more memorable mistakes was someone solving the puzzle 'A STREETCAR NA_ED DESIRE' by asking for a 'K' which would make 'A STREETCAR NAKED DESIRE', not exactly the famous Marlon Brando movie.

Vanna White standing in front of Wheel of Fortune board for the A Streetcar Named Desire guess-1

Another Wheel of Fortune moment that had fans laughing was when the clue, 'ANOTHER FEATHER _N YO_R _A_' had contestants scratching their heads trying to come up with the correct answer, 'ANOTHER FEATHER IN YOUR CAP' for far too long. It's always easy to laugh at others' mistakes not being the one on stage, but it's these little human moments of relatable airheadedness that make the show so fun in the first place.