Quiz shows have been on our television networks for almost as long as TV itself has existed, and it's not difficult to see why. Everybody loves tuning in to Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Wheel of Fortune in order to have a bit of friendly competition with family members or housemates - and, even if it turns out you suck when it comes to basic geography or celebrity news, it's still enticing to see how far someone can go on a game show.
Every now and then, though, someone messes up in a truly spectacular way, and it ends up being far more entertaining than any victory would have been.
Take this guy, for example, who, when asked to give a clue about the surname "Obama", said: "Bin Laden".
Yep. It's bad.
The guy literally just had to give a clue that would lead his partner to the name, so "Barack" or "Michelle" would probably be the obvious choices, and yet he went with Bin Laden. I guess, in a roundabout way, "Barack" could be attained from the hint seeing as he was the one responsible for taking out the 9/11 terrorist - but that's almost certainly not what this contestant was going for, right?
So what happened? Did he misread the clue? Does he not know who Obama is? Or was it just the worst brain-fart in TV history?
Well, he did correct himself after a few seconds, so we can be fairly certain that he knows who the 44th president was. And, once the clip went viral, he posted a Twitter thread about the incident, describing himself as the "Racist $100,000 Pyramid Guy".
"I was on $100,000 Pyramid," explains the guy, who it turns out is called Evan Kaufman. "I’m playing with Tim Meadows, one of my heroes from SNL. My son had been born two weeks prior. I am very tired but excited to win money for my family. We play up the whole tired Dad thing."
He continued:
"The producers of the show tell us beforehand, if we get to the final round, to study the questions VERY hard. 'People misread them! They say.
"They have no idea...
"I make it to the final round. I remember what the producers said. I try and focus. READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY.
"The first square flips. I breathe. I read 'People Whose Last Name is Obama.' I freeze. There’s only one. BARACK OBAMA. The man I would have voted for three times*! (*H/T Jordan Peele)
"'Who else is a famous Obama?' My brain is racing. I need to list multiple people. I can’t just say Barack. What I should have said was, “Michelle, Sasha, Malia, Bo! The PORTUGUESE WATER DOG BO!"
But, obviously, Kaufman said none of those things.
"Here’s what my brain decided," he explained. "Who is associated with Obama? Who did he kill? What sounds like Obama!"
Basically, the whole thing was a brain-fart caused by baby-tiredness and overthinking. It could happen to anyone! Well, maybe not anyone, because Kaufman was smart enough to get to the final round in the first place.
Unfortunately, he didn't win the big money, but he did manage to score himself a few minutes of internet fame. Better luck next time, eh?
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