After 40-plus years of hosting Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak has heard every kind of answer from contestants. It takes a special kind of response to get a reaction from him, whether it’s needing to sit down for a moment or dropping his cards in pretend-shock.
On a recent episode of the game show, contestant Kate made it to the Bonus Puzzle. The category? “What Are You Doing?” Before any guesses, the puzzle looked like ____N_ A LEA_. She guessed “HOPING A LEAP,” “MOVING A LEAF,” and “BREAKING A LEAF,” whatever that means. None were correct. After her 10 seconds was up, Sajak revealed the answer: “FIXING A LEAK.” Kate was mentally kicking herself before blurting out, “I kept thinking of doing something else with a leak and I didn’t think that was it.”
Sajak’s reaction:
He also dropped his cards, a possible Wheel of Fortune first. (Ask Kate what her favorite Beatles song is, and she’ll sing “Fixing a Hole” to the tune of “Taking a Leak.”)
Speaking of firsts, co-host Vanna White recently revealed her first memory of her long-time co-worker. “I remember sitting in the makeup chair next to Pat when we first started, when I first started. And I turned to him and I said, ‘I wonder where we’ll be in 10 years.’ It’s been 40. It’s been incredible. I’m so lucky and so happy,” she said.
You can watch the Wheel clip above.