A "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle recently had contestants scratching their heads, while viewers grew frustrated at their numerous incorrect guesses. The puzzle's answer was "another feather in your cap," but Laura Machado, a high school dean of students, was thrown off after her initial guess of "another feather in your hat," was incorrect. Even when a "P" appeared on the board as the last letter of the last word, Machado's next guesses were lap and map, but the other contestants were stumped as well. One viewer tweeted that unsuccessful attempts to solve the puzzle were "the most painful two minutes of Wheel of Fortune I've ever seen," while Josh Gad, the actor who voiced Olaf in "Frozen," also weighed in."God help us all," he said. Previous "Wheel of Fortune" puzzles have stumped contestants, including one in which "Jolly good fellow" was guessed as "Jolly goof fellow."But this incident had viewers enraged, with one headline reading, "Wheel of Fortune contestants spend two minutes reminding us America is in decline."The show's longtime host, Pat Sajak, came to the contestants' defense."It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry," Sajak wrote in a post on Twitter."Sitting at home, it seems incredible that they couldn’t solve it, but I knew in real time what was happening," another tweet from Sajak says.Sajak wrote that the puzzle's first answer, "feather in your hat," is how a lot of people say it and so, the other contestants believed it was a good guess. "Now imagine you’re on national TV, and you’re suddenly thrown a curve and you begin getting worried about looking stupid, and if the feather isn’t in your hat, where the heck can it be? You start flailing away looking for alternatives rather than synonyms for 'hat,'" Sajak wrote. Sajak added that he's been "praised online for 'keeping it together' and not making fun of the players," but said he feels for contestants."Truth is, all I want to do is help to get them through it and convince them that those things happen even to very bright people," he tweeted. In closing, Sajak asked viewers to stop mocking the players or calling them names and to "have a little heart.""These are good people in a bad situation under a kind of stress that you can’t begin to appreciate from the comfort of your couch," he wrote.

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After a "Wheel of Fortune" contestant lost out on a new Audi due to a technicality — even though she answered the puzzle correctly — the car company said it would gift her the vehicle instead.Video above: Watch the moment the contestant lost out on the Audi due to a technicalityWithin a few days of her appearance on the long-running game show, Audi located competitor Charlene Rubush and said it would give her the same model of car she'd been denied on the show.In a recent holiday episode of "Wheel of Fortune," Rubush had made it to the bonus round with just 10 seconds to fill in the missing letters of a puzzle, themed "What are you doing?" After first guessing, "Choosing the right card," she tried again — "Choosing the right ... word!"Rubush answered correctly, but she paused for a few seconds between "right" and "word.""You know, this one's tough because you said all the right words, including the word 'word,' but as you know, it's gotta be more or less continuous," host Pat Sajak told Rubush, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "We'll allow for a little pause, but not four or five seconds."I'm sorry," he continued. "You did a good job of getting it, but we can't give you the prize, and it was the Audi."Rubush did end her stint on the show with $16,500 in winnings — just no Audi Q3, a luxury SUV that starts at $35,900.A clip of the moment Rubush lost out on the Audi due to a technicality was shared widely on Twitter, including by former "Jeopardy" winner Alex Jacob."Come on @WheelofFortune, the woman literally chose the right word," he tweeted. "Give her the car."His plea and those of other "Wheel of Fortune" viewers gained traction, and Jacob shared that he'd messaged Audi to ask for their help. Several hours later, Audi tweeted that Rubush was "a winner in our eyes" and would award her the Q3.Tara Rush, Audi of America Chief Marketing Officer, said the company was "thrilled to gift Charlene" in a statement to CNN."It is the season of giving after all and, technicality or not, we are always eager to share a bit of Audi magic and cheer!" Rush said in the statement."Wheel of Fortune" did not immediately responded to CNN's requests for comment.The hubbub over Rubush's loss is at least the second time this year "Wheel of Fortune" would-be winners' chances were tanked by a technicality. In April, a contestant used the word "and" in his final answer despite answering the puzzle correctly. Suffice to say, fans were very unhappy — but that contestant was not later awarded a car for his troubles.

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