Its earliest known appearance is March 15, 1978, where original host Chuck Woolery notes that three or four had been purchased up to that point before asking the staff if one of them had puppies.

During the time when winners spent their winnings on prizes, one of the lower-value items was a nearly 3-foot-tall ceramic Dalmatian statue priced at $154.although strangely, no brand was ever named in relation to it.

Wheel of Fortune has filled this trope several times:.

To a lesser extent was the infamous 'Jog & Tramp' that consisted of a pair of mini trampolines used as an exercise device.

Who wanted $300 worth of M&M's when $300 was also the lowest cash amount on the board? Just look at all the prizes on this list worth $300 or less all 100+ of them.

Its Sequel Series, Whammy!, had tons of these, especially in Round 1.

At the end of the episode, that prize turned out to be a Flokati rug! During one episode, Peter announced before the game that the show was about to surpass $4,000,000 in total amount of prizes given away, and that he had a special prize ready for whoever broke that mark.

The Flokati rug became a Running Gag on the show, which led host Peter Tomarken to wear one on his head in an episode.

For those of you who don't know what the heck one of those are, a Flokati rug is an area rug usually used in bathrooms because they're soft, feel nice on your feet, and are sound dampeners.and they are in no way comparable to hitting the Big Bucks square.

It usually appeared only in Round 1, but managed to be won at least twice (it was also won once in the one-off revival for the Gameshow Marathon on CBS in 2006).

The former Trope Namer was the Flokati Rug on Press Your Luck, which is probably second to the Wheel Dalmatian below as the most recognizable example.

Because of this kind of thing, most game shows will, behind the scenes, allow you to decline unwanted prizes (and the associated tax hit) without affecting your official win total, or request to receive the prize's cash value instead note (if available in your area most game shows in the US do not offer cash value, and only permit you to decline accepting the prize). Similarly trips to places such as New York City aren't quite as exciting if you actually live there. For example, a lot of people might like to win a Jet-Ski or a boat, but if you don't live near a decent body of water (like a lake or ocean), it can be a little underwhelming. In other cases, the prizes themselves aren't bad, but the circumstances can render them undesirable.

You don't feel like you've won anything when you win these, and in some cases you'd think the Zonk was a better deal. These aren't Zonks, or 'prizes' that signify that you've lost they're honest-to-goodness real prizes made by legitimate companies that the show's producers actually thought someone would want. Sometimes on a Game Show, a prize is just so stinkingly bad that the contestants actively try not to get it.

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