Million Dollar Money Drop: Screwed Team Gets Another Shot!

Sticky Post-it Note question provesa harsh reminder to Fox game show and its research department

By Jenna Mullins Dec 23, 2010 9:30 PMTags

Who knew a little item like a Post-it could cause so many problems?

The sticky note is at the center of a controversy on Fox's show Million Dollar Money Drop after a pair of contestants lost $800,000 for answering a question incorrectly about the 3M item. Turns out, the answer they gave was correct, and they shouldn't have lost all that dough!

So, what happens now?

On Monday's show, contestants Gabe Okoye and Brittany Mayi were posed this question: which item was sold in stores first: the Macintosh computer, the Sony Walkman or Post-it Notes? Gabe and Brittany bet their money on Post-its, but lost the $800,000 when they were told the correct answer was the Walkman.

This is where it gets good. The internet went crazy the next day, claiming that the contestants had gotten the shaft and Post-its were in fact the right answer. TVWeek even talked to Arthur Fry, a retired 3M employee who co-invented the Post-it, and he concurred that 3M sold their sticky notes as early as 1977. Since the Walkman wasn't in stores until 1979, Gabe and Brittany's answer was the right one.

Directly following the episode, executive producer Jeff Apploff released a statement standing by his research team and their claim that the Walkman was the right answer. But after a week of internet outrage, Jeff gave this statement to E! on Thursday:

"Unfortunately, the information our research department originally obtained from 3M regarding when Post-it notes were first sold was incomplete. As a result of new information we have received from 3M, we feel it is only fair to give our contestants, Gabe and Brittany, another shot to play Million Dollar Money Drop even though this question was not the deciding question in their game. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the viewers who brought this to our attention, and we're thrilled to give Gabe and Brittany the opportunity to return to play the game."

Put that on your post-it and stick it! Good luck on your second chance, you two!