The Weakest Link: 10 Questions The Contestants Should’ve Known

The original incarnation of Weakest Link was an international hit in the early 2000s. The show distinguished itself from other, similar shows by featuring a harsher tone, embodied by the stern persona of British host Anne Robinson. Contestants were often shamed for their incorrect responses and each round ended with the contestants voting out the worst player, leading to the famous phrase Anne Robinson would say as players were eliminated, “you are the weakest link, goodbye.”

Last year, NBC rebooted Weakest Link with a new host, Glee star Jane Lynch. While the show is not quite as mean as the original version, Jane Lynch still gives contestants a hard time for the questions they miss. Some of the contestants definitely deserve this treatment by missing easy questions and making the audience wonder how they made it on the show, to begin with.

10 Counting Nickels

In episode 2, the question”If I had a nickel for every nickel in this question, how many cents would I have?” was asked to contestant Arielle. Panicking, the contestant answered, “1,” then slapped the Bank Button for no reason and then said, “5,” which was also incorrect since the word “nickel” was mentioned twice in the question.

This is a clear example of the pressure of being on television getting to a contestant, causing them to miss an otherwise simple question. Despite this snafu, Arielle managed to avoid elimination and made it all the way to the final round.

9 Christmas

In episode 3, contestant Vincent was asked “Which U.S. federal holiday comes last in the calendar year?” to which he answered “Labor Day.” This answer was obviously incorrect and was not even close to the right answer: Christmas. Falling in September, Labor Day is followed by Indigenous Peoples Day/Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas Day.

In many regards, Christmas is the biggest holiday of the year and famously falls on December 25th, less than a week before the end of the year, making this about as easy of a question as one could ever hope to be asked on a trivia game show.

8 Game Over

Contestant Queen Shereen competed in episode 4 and was posed the question, “In what 40-year-old video game is a round, yellow creature chased by ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde?” The question gave a lot of information that would help most people arrive at the correct answer of Pac-Man.

However, Queen Shereen was unable to think of the arcade classic and instead answered “Tetris.” Statistically, she was the weakest link in that round and was voted out of the game during the elimination.

7 David Hasselhoff

Host Jane Lynch asked contestant Mark “In 2000, who starred on Broadway to prove he was ‘more than a guy in red Speedos running in slow motion across the beach?” in episode 5. Pop culture enthusiasts no doubt identified the correct answer as Baywatch star David Hasselhoff.

But Mark inexplicably answered with long-time The Price Is Right host Bob Barker. Jane Lynch teased him for planting the image of Bob Barker in a red Speedo in her mind. Mark should have known the answer, but his incorrect response was entertaining nonetheless.

6 NBA Dynasty

In episode 6, contestant Debi shared that she was a Christmas decorator for celebrities, even name-dropping NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal as a former client. This particular piece of personal experience made it all the worse when she was asked “What NBA team won three titles in four years, thanks largely to Steph Curry?” and responded with “the Pacers.”

Not only are the Golden State Warriors, the correct answer, a much more popular and relevant team, but the Indiana Pacers have never won an NBA championship, much less three in four years.

5 The Godfather

Competing in episode 7, contestant Jen was asked “Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando both won Oscars for playing what character?” and answered “The Sopranos.” The correct answer was Vito Corleone from The Godfather trilogy, one of the most famous characters in cinema history.

Jen was clearly on the right track by guessing a mafia-related property, but as a television show, The Sopranos was never eligible for the Oscars. Additionally, the question was asking for the name of the character, not the movie. The Sopranos may have featured many memorable characters, but Vito Corleone certainly was not one of them.

4 Eminem

When contestant Shaun was asked, “In rap music, who is the real Slim Shady?” in episode 8, he surprisingly responded by passing on the question, failing to identify Eminem as the answer. Released over 20 years ago, Eminem’s hit song “The Real Slim Shady” popularized his nickname.

Eminem has enjoyed a great deal of crossover success, becoming a household name. Even a non-rap fan should have been able to come up with the answer to this question. As a result of this miss, Shaun was eliminated from the show.

3 Happy Birthday

Sometimes it is speed, rather than the pressure, that causes the contestant to slip up on Weakest Link. Because the rounds are timed, the contestants are in a rush to answer as quickly as possible.

In episode 11, Robert was asked, “What is the tenth word in the ‘Happy Birthday’ song?” He quickly ran through the song in his head and answered “you,” missing the correct answer of “birthday.” Given that most people hear this song many times every single year, this question would have been an easy one had the contestant just taken a few extra seconds to count properly.

2 Thanksgiving Day Parade

For many Americans, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an essential aspect of celebrating the holiday. The giant balloons that comprise much of the parade have become an iconic image, seen by millions every year. This made contestant Shikha’s incorrect response to a question in episode 11 unforgivable for her fellow competitors.

When asked, “What New York department store has its own Thanksgiving Day parade featuring giant balloons?” she responded with “New York Company.” While she may not have known the correct answer, she was not even able to guess an actual company. As a result, she was eliminated from the competition after the round.

1 Bohemian Rhapsody

Heading into the second round of episode 13, contestant Glen had been the strongest link, making his slip up all the more surprising. He was asked, “If you say ‘Alexa, is this the real-life?’ your Echo device will recite the lyrics from what Queen song?” and responded “Big Bottom Girls.”

The answer to the question was of course “Bohemian Rhapsody,” one of the most famous rock songs of all time. Making things even worse is the fact that “Big Bottom Girls” is not even the title to a Queen song; presumably he meant to say “Fat Bottom Girls.”

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