During the show’s original air days in the 1950s, home viewers were able to submit their bids for showcases using postcards. Surprisingly enough, viewers at home often came much closer to the actual prices than on-stage contestants. In the event of a tiebreaker, both parties were informed via telegram and went into a tie-breaker round in which they had to guess the price of a new, specific item.
The last time a Home Viewer Showcase was featured on the show was back in 2011. In 2011, rather than using postcards to chime in, home viewers simply put in their bids on the show’s website.
Scientific Curiosity
The wheel in "Price is Right," and the game, in general, has been the object of numerous scientific studies. It has invoked curiosity all over the world, which is why the Royal Economic Society decided to fund research into the way of its operation. In it, the organization’s research representatives, study the behavior of contestants as they make decisions in the game’s progression.
It follows 141 recordings of the show to compare samples for their study. The tapings were gathered from the ’94-’95 season and helped to reveal insights into the minds of contestants and inner workings of the show in general.
Mrs. Brady Crashes Through a Wall
Florence Henderson had quite a wild ride when she popped up as a guest on the show. The actress, who plays Mrs. Brady on the hit ‘70s sitcom; "The Brady Bunch," appeared in 2012. During the show, which was a special episode for Mother’s Day, she waved to cameras and the audience from the passenger seat of a prize SUV.
The person behind the wheel got a little distracted by everything that was going on, and accidentally drove it straight into the wall of the set. Luckily, no one was hurt, and there was no severe damage to the car or the show’s set.
Oh, No They Didn’t
During a taping in 2015, comedian Danielle Perez found herself the winner of a shiny new treadmill. Perez had been in a tragic accident in the past that caused her to lose both of her feet. Luckily, she was a great sport about the whole deal. The audience seemed to tense up quite a bit when the prizes came up, and it became clear that’s what was happening.
In an interview after the show, Perez laughed it off, saying, “you can’t write this. You can’t make this up.” She even started her own meme, featuring a still of her face from the moment it happened, with a caption that read, “when you win a treadmill on national TV, but you have no feet.”
Fired for Being Pregnant
It’s illegal for employers to discriminate against employees for things like being pregnant. Unfortunately, it’s all-too-common when it comes to working in show business. After model Brandi Cochran became pregnant with twins, she reported that producers started hurling insults at her, things like, “wide load coming through.”
The model, who’d worked with the show for six years, between 2002 and 2008, was ultimately terminated after taking maternity leave that year. She filed a lawsuit against the show in 2010, in which she won over $8 million. Cochran isn’t the only woman to report lousy behavior from behind the scenes on Price.