mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >

Wheel of Fortune was one of my favorite game shows for years; I remember watching it back in the 1970s, when Chuck Woolery was the host (and one of the regular prizes was a large ceramic dog). The game changed in later years, and one addition was the Bonus Round. In the extra frame, winners were spotted six letters – R, S, T, L, N, and E – and given a shot at guessing a short puzzle. This concept leads us to today’s Brain Game, which has no single correct answer. Just do your best!
What is the longest English word
you can come up with that does NOT
contain any of the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E?
sorry if this is in the list of possible answers (i havent looked yet) but this popped in my mind instantly… hippopotamus!
posted by brandon on 10-28-2009 at 8:12 am
How about ophidiophobia (fear of snakes).
Brandon, hippopotamus wouldn’t work because of the S and T.
posted by Heather on 10-28-2009 at 8:18 am
Brandon – “hippopotamus” has a ‘t’ in it, so it doesn’t work.
(Not that I can come up with any on my own this early in the morning…)
posted by Tina on 10-28-2009 at 8:18 am
Tougher question: who turned the letters before Vanna?
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 10-28-2009 at 10:28 am
I was very proud of myself for getting “cookbook” and “kickback” and left it at that.
posted by Matthew on 10-28-2009 at 10:40 am
I know the answer, PD, but I’ll let someone else provide it.
I was maybe 10 when the show premiered… I know that its morning air time was just about the only thing that made me get out of bed before noon during summer vacation.
posted by Sandy Wood on 10-28-2009 at 10:49 am
Matthew, those are both perfectly good words. I’d give props to any answer of eight letters or more.
Did I actually use the word “props” in a sentence? Sorry.
posted by Sandy Wood on 10-28-2009 at 10:52 am
I used to love to watch people “shop” on Wheel of Fortune. I wonder why they don’t do that anymore. Maybe people just prefer cash.
posted by Hannibal Schlechter on 10-28-2009 at 2:54 pm
That would be Susan Stafford PD! She left in 1982.
posted by Seamus on 10-28-2009 at 3:15 pm
woodchuck.
chappaquidick — i know, it’s a name…but it’s also an incident!
posted by Pete on 10-28-2009 at 7:16 pm
Very good Seamus! You may buy a vowel.
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 10-28-2009 at 7:39 pm
I wonder if R.L. Stine was ever an answer on this portion of WOF. It’d be an instant win!
posted by Tamsyn on 10-28-2009 at 8:08 pm
I found out about this from @BrainRunner on Twitter. A great follow for sweet links like this one!
posted by Ricky Davis on 10-29-2009 at 4:05 am
wrong again – it was tom foolery and susan surfboard.
posted by dirk alan on 11-10-2009 at 4:33 pm