‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant completely botches bagel-and-lox puzzle

A Cathartic Night on “Wheel of Fortune” Game shows allow viewers to shout at their televisions. Last night’s “Wheel of Fortune” was no different, owing to one perplexed participant.

Shocking Puzzle Fail
On March 1, a “Wheel of Fortune” show had an unexpected puzzle failure. Angie Gautney of De Land, Florida, grappled with a nearly-completed puzzle in the “Food & Drink” area.

 

A perplexing guess
After winning the first toss-up puzzle and $1,000, Gautney revealed to host Pat Sajak that her father used to mislead her and her brothers by viewing the game ahead of time. But the problem — “WARM TOASTED BA_ELS WITH LO_ AND CREAM CHEESE” – duped her this time.

“Warm toasted bagels with low and cream cheese?” Gautney guessed.

“No,” Sajak responded firmly. Nina Lance correctly guessed “Warm toasted bagels with lox and cream cheese,” winning the $1,000 minimum for the round.

“Yeah, that’s a much better recipe,” Sajak quipped.

 

What is Lox?
Lox is a brined salmon fillet that is a favourite bagel topping and a mainstay of American Jewish cuisine.

Social Media Reactions
Social media erupted with debates over whether the puzzle was easy or not.

One person tweeted, “OMG, on Wheel of Fortune, someone just guessed warm toasted bagels with LOW and cream cheese instead of lox.” So embarrassing. I would never show my face again,” later noting that “Florida has so many New York transplants,” so “she should have known.”

Another tweet read, “Someone saw this puzzle and said ‘Warm Toasted Bagels with Low and Cream Cheese,'” along with a melting face emoji. Someone responded, “It literally killed me.”

 

“She said ‘low’. I am not kidding. “Oi vey,” another person exclaimed, using the Yiddish term for frustration.

“The absolute verbal abuse my mum and I screamed at this lady on wheel of fortune who didn’t know what lox was,” a another Twitter user added. They used all-caps to write, “SHE GUESSED ‘LOW AND BAGELS.'” “What the hell is ‘low’?”

Empathy towards Gautney
Some social media users empathised with Gautney and claimed they had no idea what lox was.

“What the heck is a LOX?” one user asked on Instagram. Another wrongly responded with “fish eggs.”

“Learned what lox is today!” someone tweeted, along with the hashtag #midwesterner.

 

“I didn’t realise lox was something people DIDN’T know,” another user remarked on Facebook. Someone else commented, “Because you’re from NJ and it’s a staple here, especially in diners.”

“Google about to get a whole lot of traffic searching what the hell type of food ‘lox’ is,” another user wrote, along with an eye-roll emoji.

The Bagel and Lox Combo
If you’re unfamiliar with the wonders of lox and cream cheese on a toasted bagel, we’ve got you covered. The bagel-and-lox combination is linked with New York City, and it was most likely invented by Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century.

In 2021, TODAY anchor and weatherman Al Roker visited the legendary Jewish deli Russ & Daughters on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

Trying Lox For Yourself
To experience it for yourself, go to any Jewish deli in the country, including the Midwest. You can also find lox at most supermarket stores.

Gautney’s Final Stand
Gautney finished in third place, earning $7,300 in cash and awards. If she wants to taste the menu item, she can use some of her winnings to go to DeLand Bagels, which is right in her backyard.