Education

9 Facts About Wheel of Fortune

It’s “Teacher’s Week” on Wheel of Fortune and WorldStrides is proud to sponsor a trip on the Wheel each night this week! As contestants spin the Wheel in hopes of winning big, here are 9 facts about Wheel of Fortune we bet you didn’t know.

• There is only one Wheel, and it weighs 2,400 pounds! The Wheel noise comes from 73 stainless steel pins which hit three rubber flippers.
• There is also only one puzzleboard. The current version is made up of 52 touch screen television monitors turned on their sides. There are 12 across in the top and bottom rows, and 14 across the two middle rows.
• The first letter Vanna ever turned on the puzzleboard was a “T.”
• The Bonus Wheel contains 24 prize envelopes.
• Vanna White has never worn the same dress twice on the show. Pat matches his tie to Vanna’s dress each episode.
• Everyone on the staff helps come up with the puzzles, including Pat and Vanna.
• Alex Trebek hosted Wheel of Fortune on April Fools’ Day in 1997 while Pat and Vanna spun the Wheel for charity.
• Wheel of Fortune was originally called Shoppers Bazaar and players didn’t win cash. They won fake money to put towards prizes on the set.
• There is a screen off-camera that tells Pat how many times a chosen letter appears in the puzzle. In the early days of the show, someone from production sat off-camera and held up their fingers to signal to Pat. They were known as “finger boys.”

Tune in to “Teacher’s Week” every night this week – check your local listings for times!