Unused set elements visible on air

[jjman920]

The Spelling Bee prize stands have always had three-digit eggcrate displays but never use the first digit because they only use two-digit prices.

Been meaning to comment on this. Believe it or not, they used a $100 Toaster Oven as a small prize early on in the game's life. Don't know if it's the only instance, but it has to be extremely rare.



This is from 12/01/88 which is online.

[MSTieScott]

This is from 12/01/88 which is online.

Wow... when they loaded the board, they put the card into slot 4 backward -- you can tell there's a C in there.

[Bryce L.]

This is from 12/01/88 which is online.

Wow... when they loaded the board, they put the card into slot 4 backward -- you can tell there's a C in there.

Would that have caused a stop-tape if the contestant had picked that card?

[WarioBarker]

when Break the Bank 85 switched to having no stunts, the keypad to enter the combination to open the vault remained but was not used again, and of course the vault opened on its own.

See also the Number Jumbler - no purpose after the format change, but stuck around anyway.

Believe it or not, they used a $100 Toaster Oven as a small prize early on in the game's life. [...]

This is from 12/01/88 which is online.

More specifically at the 10:34 mark.

Off-topic, but I kept watching after the price reveal and I'm glad I did because turns out that was a pretty important playing of Spelling Bee - the contestant didn't get the toaster oven but nails the price of the next (and last) prize, after which Bob says the whole "exact bid after missing a previous prize" scenario hadn't come up in discussions about the game. He says he'll make a ruling right then and there, repeats the rule that an exact guess on any prize wins all three plus the three cards, and decides that it also awards the prizes (and cards) the contestant hadn't gotten. "I think that's the fair thing to do!"

EDITED TO ADD: Turns out that hundreds digit was also used on 2/16/89 - for whatever reason, the displays showed the prices and differences with leading zeroes.

[Kevin Prather]

the contestant didn't get the toaster oven but nails the price of the next (and last) prize, after which Bob says the whole "exact bid after missing a previous prize" scenario hadn't come up in discussions about the game. He says he'll make a ruling right then and there, repeats the rule that an exact guess on any prize wins all three plus the three cards, and decides that it also awards the prizes (and cards) the contestant hadn't gotten. "I think that's the fair thing to do!"

Bob can spin it for television however he wants, but I imagine that's exactly what the intended rule was anyway. "An exact price wins all three prizes" is pretty self-explanatory.

[Otm Shank]

I bet they sold a lot of those 18-inch high, under-the-cabinet toaster ovens for $100. What can you really toast, bake or broil in that thing, other than toast or a narrow pizza?

[Fedya]

I just went to the kitchen to measure my countertop toaster oven, and got a rough measurement of 9 inches high, 10 inches deep, and just under 18 inches wide.

In fact, Amazon lists this Toastmaster 6-slice toaster oven at 19.5 x 15.9 x 11.42 inches, and would fit under the cabinet above it.

[Otm Shank]

I meant to say 8 inch, not 18. But the difference with the ones that are sold now, the 1988 one has a door opening that would better be described as a food slot; the height of the product was not maximized for the efficiency of the product, it was just shorter and compromised the functional space.



Around that time we had the undercabinet TV/radio, and I remember the neighbors had this clunky undercabinet can opener. That seemed to be the fad of the time, to clear the counter of bulky appliances with hanging, less-but-still-bulky appliances. (In fact, our microwave took up so much room, my dad cut a hole and inserted it in the wall over the stove, so it actually was in the garage, which smelled lovely when we cooked bacon.)

Would that have caused a stop-tape if the contestant had picked that card?

Knowing Bob's penchant to roll forward and not stop tape unless something was disadvantageous to the contestant or incredibly awkward, I'm sure they would have just left it that way, but Bob would still offer the $2,500. If the contestant then played for the car, I could see Bob jokingly offering the $2,000 without flipping over a card.

[whewfan]

Regarding the exposed card with the C, it might work to the player's advantage, but of course we won't know if the player has the remaining 2 letters or one of the two cards that says CAR. That player could've chosen that card to be one of the free letters at the start.

[Fedya]

Yeah, we still have the under-cabinet GE clock/timer/radio.  Not that it gets used for anything other than a clock, and we've already got another clock on the microwave and oven.  But it's easier to leave it there than to remove it.

Those color controls (for lack of a better term) on the toaster oven are soooooo dated.

[parliboy]

Would that have caused a stop-tape if the contestant had picked that card?

No, they would have just ran with it.  It only advantaged the contestant to have that information.

[Kevin Prather]

Would that have caused a stop-tape if the contestant had picked that card?

No, they would have just ran with it.  It only advantaged the contestant to have that information.

And it's not like it was a "CAR", or even an "R". The C's and A's were the gimmes.

[Mr. Armadillo]

I assume they would have run with it, or if Bob was feeling generous, he would have offered to let the contestant swap it for another one.