.A couple lost nearly a million dollars on the game show ‘Million Dollar Money Drop’ after answering a question correctly and being told by host Kevin Pollack that it was incorrect.
Gabe Okoye and Brittany Mayi were asked which product out of the Macintosh computer, the Sony Walkman and the Post-It note was sold first in stores. After much debate, the couple went with Okoye’s suggestion and bet $800,000 on on Post-Its.
According to the show, the Walkman was first sold in 1979 and Post-Its were first sold in 1980. However, 3M initially launched Post-Its in 1977 to disappointing results. By 1980, Post-Its were being sold throughout the U.S. and in 1981 the product came to Canada.
On the show a team of two is presented with a million dollars in cash and asked to risk the money on seven multiple-choice questions. Participants must place the money over trap doors that are labeled as potential answers and if they are unsure can place money over more than one answer, but must leave one trap door uncovered. If participants place a million dollars on a trap door and get the answer wrong, all of the money drops.
Jeff Apploff, the executive producer of “Million Dollar Money Drop,” has no intention of giving Okoye and Mayi another shot on the show. In a statement issued to Gawker he said, “The integrity of the questions and answers on our show are our No. 1 priority. In this case, our research team spoke directly with 3M, and they confirmed that although they had given out free samples in test markets in 1977 and 1978, it wasn’t until 1980 that Post-Its were sold in stores. Million Dollar Money Drop stands behind the answer that was revealed on the show.”