Florida Wheel of Fortune contestant sparks hilarity after getting answer wrong to food puzzle

A Wheel of Fortune contestant went viral for the wrong reasons after she failed to solve a simple puzzle in the Food & Drink category on the long-running game show.

Florida resident Angie Gautney appeared on the March 1 episode and had already earned over $6,000 when she attempted to solve the puzzle: 'WARM TOASTED BA_ELS WITH LO_ AND CREAM CHEESE.'

'I'm going to try and solve,' Gautney said with little confidence after successfully guess there was a 'B' in the puzzle. She offered: 'WARM TOASTED BAGELS WITH LOW AND CREAM CHEESE.' 'No, not right,' host Pat Sajak, 76, said as the incorrect buzzer rang out. 

The next contestant correctly asked for an 'X' to be displayed. That person guessed correctly: 'WARM TOASTED BAGELS WITH LOX AND CREAM CHEESE.' 

'Yeah, that's a much better recipe,' Sajak said as co-host Vanna White revealed the correct answer. 

In a Facebook post prior to the airing of her episode, Angie Gautney warned that it might be embarrassing 

The puzzle that Gautney simply couldn't solve

Bagels with cream cheese and lox, a cut of brined salmon, were brought to the US from Eastern Europe by Jewish immigrants more than 100 years ago and is one of the most popular breakfast foods on the East Coast. 

Gautney, who works as a teacher at the Stetson Baptist Christian School in North Deland, Florida, still walked away from the show with $7,300 in prize money. 

She announced her appearance on the show in a Facebook post on March 1.

'Tonight's the night! There will be a few embarrassing moments, but it was a fun experience! Wish I could do it again!' she wrote. 

Unfortunately, Gautney's answer attracted the ire, and jokes, of Twitter. 

Understandably, Gautney's answer attract the ire, and jokes, of Twitter

'With 'LOW and cream cheese'.....This is a disgrace. Someone get us her @ so we can hook her up with some LOX and cream cheese,' wrote Bagel Boss.

'Omg on someone just guessed warm toasted bagels with LOW and cream cheese instead of lox that is so embarrassing I would never show my face again,' said another viewer. 

'She said “low” I’m not kidding. Oi vey….,' said RetiredGuy999. 

'The absolute verbal abuse my mom and I screamed at this lady on wheel of fortune who didn’t know what lox was #WheelOfFortune,' tweeted another user. 

Not everybody on Twitter was mean to Gautney

At least one person was sympathetic to Gautney.

'Warm toasted bagel with lox and cream cheese' was the puzzle on wheel of Fortune. What the f**k is lox?' Tweetin Jackleg said.

'I'm from New York so I obviously know what lox is on a bagel. I wonder if the rest of US does, or if that was just a rough guess?' another tweeter wondered.

In March 2022, Pat Sajak took to Twitter to defend contestants who are accused of not getting simple puzzle answers correct and therefore become roundly mocked. 

'It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry,' he tweeted. 

Sajak said that he would never mock a guest because they are 'good people in a bad situation.' He tweeted that people sitting in the comfort of their homes cannot understand the pressure that contestants are under. 

'After all, you may be there one day. And no one wants to be trending on Twitter,' Sajak said at the conclusion of his thread.