During a September 2026 broadcast of the RTL quiz show Wer wird Millionär?
, host Günther Jauch and studio contestants faced frustration over seemingly impossible questions. A cryptic computer keyboard prompt baffled every single challenger, while a later query about standard Duden vocabulary caused a player to drop to 500 euros.
Television quiz shows rarely push a seasoned host to the brink of canceling an episode on air. In a special broadcast, the RTL show featured an installment dedicated to dedicated fans known as Klugscheißer
, or know-it-alls, who typically fancy themselves experts from the comfort of their living rooms. Instead of high-tier drama near the top of the money tree, the stumbling blocks arrived early and caught everyone off guard.
The Keyboard Question That Stumped Every Single Contestant
The first major roadblock occurred during the qualifying round designed to determine who gets to sit in the hot seat opposite the host. The selection task required players to mentally map out a standard German computer keyboard and arrange special characters over specific numerical and punctuation keys under intense time pressure.
Günther Jauch told Watson, This can't be. Nobody can figure this out. One guy is still typing. Folks!
When the computer terminals locked in their answers, not a single panel turned green. The correct sequence required knowing that the percentage sign sits above the 5 key, the ampersand above the 6, the equals sign above the 0, and the question mark above the B key. Because the entire pool of hopefuls failed the task, the production team had to deploy a much simpler backup question involving the children’s hiding game rhyme Eins, zwei, drei, vier Eckstein
.
Constantin Wurch Falls on the 2,000-Euro Duden Definition
Once contestant Constantin Wurch made it across the threshold, the game did not get any easier. At the 2,000-euro tier, Wurch encountered a linguistic puzzle that forced him to lean heavily on his studio audience.
The question asked what a specific term could mean according to the Duden dictionary in the sense of very large or absolutely. The multiple-choice options ranged from bright and dark to loud and quiet. Wurch admitted he was entirely stuck and let the audience vote. The crowd overwhelmingly favored option B for dark, which proved to be incorrect.
The right answer was actually hell
(bright), as used in common German idioms like heller Wahnsinn
(absolute madness) or in heller Aufregung
(in a state of utter excitement). The misstep dropped Wurch’s prize money down to 500 euros.
Jauch admitted he also suffered from ein Brett vorm Kopf
and could not grasp the logic behind the lexicographical choice immediately after the reveal.
The evening nearly derailed completely when another bizarre selection prompt asked contestants to find hidden animals—specifically a cow, female dog, sow, and duck—embedded literally inside terms like Blutsbrüder
or Leberkäse
. When time expired with zero correct entries, Jauch threatened to walk away from the recording.
According to Kino, Günther Jauch warned, If something like that comes again, we're calling off the show
Following the near-mutiny over the editorial direction, candidate Giuseppe Russo managed to log the correct keyboard backup answer in just 2.14 seconds to claim the hot seat. Russo advanced through several rounds, though he ultimately chose to walk away at the 32,000-euro mark rather than risk dropping back to 500 euros on a question concerning the founding wave of the former East Germany. Russo noted that his decision was heavily influenced by three girls and a wife who like to shop and travel
.
Later in the broadcast, candidate Carolin Schönknecht-Albinus reversed the night’s earlier stumbles by securing a 125,000-euro payout, bringing a successful close to a turbulent evening in the studio.