Have you ever wondered which game show between Wheel of Fortune and The Price is Right has the heavier wheel? Well, wonder no more, because we have the answer.
On September 8, 1975, the Price is Right expanded from half-hour episodes to one hour instalments and was looking for new games to fill the increased time slot. This was when the show first introduced the Showcase Showdown, aka the Big Wheel.
In the Showcase Showdown, three contestants who have won their way up on stage compete for the right to play in The Price Is Right Showcase. Each contestant spins the Big Wheel with the aim being to get closest to 100 in two spins without going over.
According to the official Price is Right X account, the Big Wheel is estimated to weigh 2,000 pounds. That is pretty hefty, but is it heavier than the famous Wheel of Fortune wheel?
September 8, 1975: On this day 46 years ago, the Showcase Showdown (the big wheel) was introduced when the show expanded from a half hour in length to one hour. The Big Wheel is estimated to weigh 2,000 pounds! pic.twitter.com/vDUYeMN8UN— The Price Is Right (@PriceIsRight) September 8, 2021
Wheel of Fortune was the first game show to make a wheel a central part of its format; wheels had been seen before, like on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life, but they were usually inconsequential side games. When Merv Griffin came up with the concept for Wheel of Fortune in 1973, he wanted a wheel similar to the Big Six wheel seen at casinos.
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On Wheel, contestants spin the giant wheel to land on dollar amounts and prizes they can then win by answering the Hangman-style puzzles. They can also land on Bankrupt wedges, meaning they lose all their earnings.
According to WorldStrides.com, the Wheel of Fortune wheel weighs 2,400 pounds, making it 400 pounds heavier than Price is Right‘s Big Wheel. It also makes its iconic spinning sound due to 73 stainless steel pins, which hit three rubber flippers as it turns.
Earlier this week, new Wheel host Ryan Seacrest shared a video of his first day on set, where he got up close and personal with the famous wheel for the first time. “The wheel is smaller than you think…. as am I,” Seacrest said.
A fan on Reddit noted, “The WoF is heavier, but I think TPiR’s wheel feels heavier because it’s upright and you have to pull it down, so gravity is kinda against you. The WoF wheel is flat on its side and you just have to pull it across you.”
They added, “Also the TPiR wheel needs to go a full rotation for a spin to count, so it takes more effort vs the WoF wheel where you don’t need a full rotation at all.”
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