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Stupid answers and Game Shows go hand-in-hand — you generally can't have one without getting the other at some point. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, having been on for over a decade in the United States alone, has had more than a few.

Note: As with the other Game Show pages in What an Idiot!, some of the following contestants may very well have given these stupid answers on purpose, while others are genuinely stumped and don't know the answer to a question nearly everyone would conclude is simple. This owes to the fact that some contestants do well enough when taking the contestant application test, but when it comes to playing the game on the air, for some reason they fail at correctly answering a seemingly simple question. That doesn't make them any less stupid, mind you, but instead become far more worthy of being here.


  • In general, anybody who leaves a Lifeline "on the table". Even if you think none of your contacts would know the answer, use the Lifeline anyway — you'll get more face time, and you might just be surprised at how knowledgeable your buddy is. And if you fail, you can at least take pride in that you exhausted all your available options.
  • In general, anyone who bombed on a first-tier question, which are often insanely easy and typically general-knowledge. Believe it or not, several contestants have whiffed the first question (originally $100, then $500 for the 2009-10 season), which usually had a blatantly-incorrect gag answer for "D".
    • August 22, 1999: The first contestant who whiffed the $100, Robby Roseman, had the bad luck of getting a question that was unusually hard for that level: "What animal did Hannibal cross the Alps on?". Roseman used his 50/50 to eliminate "Chihuahuas" and "Horses" before then, out of the two remaining ("Elephant" and "Llama"), answering the latter. This led to the Fan Nickname of "Llama" being given every time a contestant bombs on the first tier.
    • October 27, 2006: A college kid came on and revealed that he hadn't slept in a long while due to the ride to the show, and pretty much had coffee flowing through his veins. He then proceeded to llama out on the $100 question by saying that the purpose of a surge protector is to protect against water. Is it any wonder why teachers tell you to sleep well before test day?
    • January 23, 2006: This contestant immediately realized his mistake after locking in a wrong answer on the $100 question.
    • This lady bombed on her $200 question after thinking that a period/full stop introduces a list of items instead of a colon.
    • October 3, 2005: This guy used all three of his Lifelines on a $500 question and still got it wrong because his gut was leaning towards the wrong answer from the beginning (It's also a good example of how the 50:50 may not have actually been "random", and why the audience really shouldn't be applauding dumb contestants).
      • It has been established in a few places that the 50/50 does deliberately leave the correct answer and the most-likely-to-be-guessed wrong answer.
    • November 25, 2005: A $1,000 question on Wheel of Fortune gets blown, apparently because the contestant has only ever seen the last 18 months of Bob Goen's version.
    • May 15, 2009: This lady blows a $300 question by thinking Mainezoil is a brand of gasoline instead of Pennzoil.
    • August 16, 2009: Another $1,000 question gets blown, thanks to Communism.
    • Fall 2009: The first question (for $500) gets blown after the contestant thinks an owl squirts ink instead of an octopus.
    • November 18, 2009: This man blows his third question (for $2,000) because he confused a character's color with what he was supposed to be looking for.
    • December 7, 2009: The height of failure — two consecutive contestants leave with nothing, and the second does so on his first question!
    • On the Australian version, an elderly man lost on the $500 question due to not knowing what kind of animal Blinky Bill is (a koala) despite the latter being a beloved children's character since the 1930s.
    • Although this first shuffle-format question was actually the second-hardest in Round 1 before randomization (meaning it would've been worth $15,000 or $16,000 in the older formats), it's obvious that this grad student wasn't paying attention in class.
  • One contestant used two Lifelines on her second question — "What type of animal is Garfield?"
  • A contestant on the French version infamously couldn't identify the Moon as being the object that orbited Earth. When he used "Ask the Audience", many of them evidently decided to stitch him up (one of our French tropers confirmed that basic astronomy is decently taught in schools) and deliberately picked a wrong answer — and he duly went with them. This incident is gleefully used by sociologists as an example of typical French behavior, although that seems slightly disdainful (except for the "stitching someone up" part).
  • The producers themselves, who asked the question "Which Great Lake after Superior has the largest area?". The correct answer (which the contestant chose) was Lake Huron, but they said it was Lake Michigan, which is the second-largest by volume. Not helping matters was that the question was ambiguous and didn't say "surface area", meaning there was no right answer. The player later returned to continue from that point.
  • May 20, 2005: During one of the show's occasional "Walk in and Win" weeks where contestants are randomly selected from the studio audience without any audition (itself possibly a stupid move by the producers), a contestant named Michelle Glover blew all her Lifelines on the $200 and $300 questions... then walked away with $300 — becoming the first (and so far, only) contestant in the history of the American show to win a non-zero amount of less than $1,000.
  • April 1, 2009: This guy tried to walk away during a "Double Dip" just as the clock hit zero. Meredith told him that "you know you can't walk in a Double Dip", despite the fact that she didn't state this fact when he used it (In comparison, during Super Millionaire, Regis always asked for a confirmation before using "Double Dip").
    • However, the contestants are informed of the rules even before getting on the show, and this included the fact that choosing to use "Double Dip" meant the contestant was choosing not to walk away, but to guess twice instead. Ordinarily, if time ran out during the Clock format, it was counted as walking away with the total current winnings rather than the bare minimum at that point, but since "Double Dip" was in effect, not answering after the clock resumes following the free first guess was counted as an incorrect second answer. This Season 8 contestant also ran out of time during "Double Dip", dropping her down to $5,000.
  • The guy who said "What part of 'that's my final answer' don't you understand?!" to Regis when the contestant was choosing the wrong answer and Regis was trying to help him out.
  • One contestant on the Czech version was asked about the name of a well-known fairytale ("Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"). The guy said that he had a "sound memory", proceeded to say all of the choices out loud (which only varied in the number of the thieves) and put "Ali Baba and the Ten Thieves" as his final answer.
  • One guy on the Australian version got 11 x 12 wrong.
  • There was a guy on one of the earlier episodes of the Regis version who was from Florida ("Go Gators!", he said) and did pretty well... until he got to a question that seemed to stump him. While the guy stared at the question, Regis asked "Do you want to talk it out?". The guy said "You want me to talk it out? All right! Final answer, A!". Regis replied "Fast enough, but wrong enough!".
  • A contestant on the Italian version was asked what kind of animal would be found on a perch. With the 50/50 narrowed to "parrot" and "hamster", she said "the parrot usually stays on a pirate's arm, so it must be the hamster".
  • The Norwegian version had one female contestant waste her "Ask the Audience" lifeline on the very first question, only to ignore their input and go with the wrong answer. And it wasn't one of those rare occasions where the question was difficult either...
  • In the Finnish version, a contestant gets stumped with an elementary math question: how many thousands are there in a million?
  • Early in the US series, a guy was asked, for $500,000, "Which of these is not a Pokémon?". Now, since he was an older man and admittedly had no idea what on Earth Pokémon was, he could be forgiven for walking away, especially as he had no Lifelines left... except that D was Frodo. Even Regis said, after the contestant chose to stop, "Every child in America is screaming at their TV right now!".

  • When a contestant is torn between two choices, they might use the 50/50 lifeline to get rid of two wrong answers. It's supposedly random, but no one verified this.
    • You'd Expect: For the contestant to realize this, and not to say the two answers they're thinking of, on the off-chance that it's not random and the producers are dicks.
    • Instead: They say something like "I think it's either A or B, I'll use my 50-50", and the computer "randomly" removes C and D, giving them no help at all. This was subverted humorously with one instance where the contestant said "I think it's either A or B, I'll use my 50-50", only for the lifeline to remove A and B, prompting an outburst and mocking from Regis before she used her last lifeline (she got the question right and won $125,000).

  • One contestant's $500 question in the original US series was "What color do you get when you mix yellow and blue?". The contestant proceeded to ask the audience. 98% gave the correct answer, which makes you wonder if the other 2% were just as idiotic, or if they were just trying to be funny. The contestant, Lawrence Caplan, went on to see the $500,000 question, so maybe he was just nervous.

  • A first-tier question on one episode went: "Complete the name of the children's game: 'Duck, Duck...'" The first answer was "Goose", of course, but the contestant said "It's been a long time since I was a kid... I'm going to have to ask the audience". A subversion though, as he ended up winning $500,000 without using another lifeline.

  • This contestant is going for £250,000 with all three lifelines intact. His question is as follows: "What is a 'bichon frisé'?" A) Dog, B) Lettuce, C) Wind, D) Muscle. He chooses to use "Ask the Audience", resulting in 93% of them picking "A", with the other 7% picking "D".
    • You'd Expect: The contestant to trust the audience and pick "A". After all, if 93% of them agree with one answer, they can't be wrong, right?
    • Instead: He ignores the audience and goes 50/50, which eliminates "B" and "D".
    • You'd Then Expect: For the contestant to pick "A", since no one in the audience chose "C".
    • Instead: He ignores the audience again, opting to use his "Phone a Friend". The friend guesses "A".
    • You'd Then Expect: For the contestant to finally choose "A" since all three of his lifelines steered toward that answer.
    • Instead: He walks away with £125,000.
    • And Of Course: The 93% that said "A"... were right!

  • In a similar vein as the above, an American contestant made it to the $500,000 question with his "Phone a Friend" and "Ask the Audience" lifelines left. His question was "Which author's first and only novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction?" A) Harper Lee, B) Ralph Ellison, C) John Kennedy Toole, D) Marjorie Rawlings. He starts by expressing a strong hunch toward Harper Lee, but he decides to confirm it with his Phone a Friend, who says "A".
    • You'd Expect: The contestant to trust his gut and his friend's confirmation and answer "A".
    • Instead: He decides to ask the audience. 80% said "A".
    • You'd Then Expect: The contestant to go with the answer he was initially thinking of and was confirmed by both of his lifelines.
    • Instead: He believes he influenced the audience's vote and doesn't trust the results, choosing to walk away.
    • And Of Course: He would've doubled his money had he trusted his instincts.

  • From Millionaire Hot Seat, one particular contestant has just been given a question for $1,000. "Discovered to the west of Bendigo in Victoria in 1869 was the large gold nugget known as 'Welcome' what?" A) Digger, B) Battler, C) Stranger, D) Back Kotter.
    • You'd Expect: Since the contestant can't pass, he would guess either "A", "B", or "C" (with "C" being the correct answer), since "D" is the "joke" answer.
    • Instead: He locks in "D" just before time runs out.
    • Contestant's "Justification": He had never heard of the show before, though he still should have realized that "D" is usually a joke answer on some early questions.

  • Another one from Hot Seat (Australia), the first question is as follows — "Which of these is not a piece of jewellery worn to symbolize a relationship between two people?" A) Engagement ring, B) Anniversary ring, C) Wedding ring, D) Burger ring (Burger Rings are an oceanic brand of snack food)
    • You'd Expect: The contestant to realize that this is one of the few cases where the joke answer is the correct answer.
    • Instead: She guesses "B".

  • Yet another one from Hot Seat (Australia), This contestant knew the answer to the question for $20,000, but wasted an extra $1,000 by using his "Phone a Friend" lifeline so he can tell his friend that he's going to win $20,000. He did that because he thinks it's cool. He got the answer right and won the $20,000 without an extra $1,000.

  • One episode of Hot Seat had the first two contestants fail at the $100 mark (one of them thought a well-known phrase was "A place in the shade" instead of "A place in the sun"). To top that off, a couple of questions later, a contestant was asked the following: "'I pity the fool!' is a catchphrase of which famous American?" A) Tom Cruise, B) Jerry Seinfeld, C) Mr. T, D) George Washington.
    • You'd Expect: Given that she had no clue what the answer was, and she had the option to pass on to the next person in play, she'd pass.
    • Instead: She guesses "D".

  • On the British version, a "Fastest Finger First" question is "Starting with Stop, put the traffic light sequence in order according to the British Highway Code", with the answer choices being "Amber", "Red and Amber", "Red" and "Green".


  • One contestant enters the studio and spends the pre-game banter talking about how much she loves Christmas. Her first question is "In the holiday song 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer', what type of weather does Santa Claus encounter on Christmas Eve?" with the answers of A) Windy, B) Frosty, C) Sleety, D) Foggy.
    • You'd Expect: Someone so in love with Christmas to easily remember that the song says "Foggy", or at least work out that would be the weather condition which a shiny nose would be practical for.
    • Instead: She decides that, since it's a Christmas song, it must involve snow and proceeds to give the final answer of "Frosty", leading to the complete failure of a question that should've been a gift for her.

  • In the Turkish version, this contestant got this question for 5,000 TL, which is "On what grounds are curling, hockey and skating played?" with the answers of A) Ice, B) Grass, C) Sand, D) Soil. He chooses to use his "Ask the Audience" lifeline, resulting in 91% of them picking "A", with 4% picking "B", 3% picking "C" and 2% picking "D".
    • You'd Expect: The contestant to trust the audience and pick "A".
    • Instead: He ignores the audience and goes 50/50, which eliminates "B" and "C".
    • You'd Then Expect: For the contestant to pick "A", since only 2% in the audience chose "C".
    • Instead: He ignores the audience again and chose "D".
    • And Of Course: The 91% that said "A"...were right!

  • In a similar vein to the above, this contestant got this question for 5,000 TL, which is "Which of these is a sweet dessert made by putting melted chocolate, cream sauce and fresh fruit on fried dough?" with the answers of A) Waffle, B) Tiramisu, C) Magnolia, D) Puff Pastry. He chooses to use his "Ask the Audience" lifeline, resulting in 88% of them picking "A", with 2% picking "B", 5% picking "C" and 5% picking "D".
    • You'd Expect: The contestant to trust the audience and pick "A".
    • Instead: He ignores the audience and chose "D".
    • And Of Course: The 88% that said "A"...were right!

  • In the Venezuelan version, there have been many fails.
    • This contestant used "Ask the Audience" on a question "It's a sporadic dance: '... step'" with the answers of A) Simple, B) Double, C) Quadruple, D) Quintuple. 100% of the audience voted for "B", but the contestant wasted the 50/50 lifeline, which eliminated "A" and "C", and only then went with "B" - which was fortunately the right answer.
    • Juan Humberto Vivas, on the third question, was asked to complete the chorus of the popular Mexican song "El Rey": "I do not have a throne or a queen, or anyone who understands me, but I'm still the...". His options were A: Papirruqui, B: Papa de los helado, C: King, D: Soul of the party. When Vivas did not know the answer, he used his 50/50 lifeline, leaving options B and C; his final answer was B: "Dad of Ice Cream". Once the Losing Horns had sounded, Eladio Lárez told the audience to sing the complete chorus of the song, and only then was Vivas able to realize his mistake.
    • Nixon Becerra used a lifeline on his first question, which was about general culture. For the second question, he had to decipher the riddle: "In the bathrooms I usually stay, although I come from the sea", the options were A: The sponge, B: The mirror, C: The outlet, D: The paper. Not being sure of the answer, Becerra used the 50:50, which narrowed it down to options A and C. He was forced to use his last available wildcard to call an ex-teacher who, to the total surprise of the assistants, assured him that the correct option was C: The socket. Without thinking twice, he hurried to lock in option C, even after Eladio recommended that he think carefully about his final answer.

  • In addition to the actual examples given above, an online urban legend circulated in 2007, where a contestant purportedly was asked "Which of the following is the largest?" as her $100 question. The four choices were peanut, elephant, moon and tennis ball. The contestant, so the story goes, proceeds to blow all three of her lifelines, not convinced that the largest – moon – is the correct answer. Her final answer? Elephant (An elephant is larger to the naked eye when compared to the moon, but the question was going for the largest in physical size and mass, for which the moon was the appropriate answer). The actual frame was from the British version of Millionaire, where the contestant in question did rather well and won £32,000.
    • Even worse: The contestant, prior to using her 50/50 lifeline, was leaning toward either peanut or tennis ball (the two choices that were wiped out upon the 50/50). At this point, according to the urban legend, host Meredith Vieira had a look of disbelief on her face.
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