Ed Toutant

Ed Toutant of Austin finally got into the Hot Seat on January 28, 2001. He has been in the Ring of Fire once before, back in January 2000. Unlike last time, though, we're playin for $1,850,000 this time! Here we go!

Ed says A.

They're all rings. $100.

Ed takes B.

Correct again. $200.

(horn sounds) And that's all 4 tonight. We'll come back Wednesday night wit a new jackpot of... $1,860,000! We learn on the second night that Ed is a product planner at IBM. Two of his brothers-in-law, Ed and Kevin, are joining him. Let's pick up the game where we left off.

Ed thinks a while, then says C.

That it is. $300.

Ed says B.

Yea, abridged dictionaries have fewer entries. $500.

One of Ed's brothers works 4 the post office, so he knows that it's a penny more 2 mail letters. A, final

That's it! $1,000! (fanfare plays)

Ed says B, final answer.

Otis invented the elevator! $2,000.

Ed knows that Eubanks replaced Branford Marsalis as the bandleader, so he says D and makes that final.

It's Kevin Eubanks! $4,000.

Ed is pretty sure that they were involved in politics, so he'll make B final.

Yea, they were indeed! $8,000!

Ed is not familiar wit this story. After Regis makes a couple of cracks about glowing vegetables, Ed decides 2 ask the audience.

Pretty good percentage on the tomato. Ed will agree and make that final.

And the audience blows it. :-( Potato is the right answer. So Ed's game is finished at $1,000.

Or is it?

The first problem wit this question is the inclusion of the choice "tomato", which is a fruit, NOT a vegetable. Michael Davies f**ks it up once again! After the show, Ed did some research on this subject. I'm terrible at summarizing his research, so if ya'll wanna see it, go 2 Steve Beverly's website, where he interviewed Ed. As it turned out, despite the fact that a tomato is not a vegetable, scientists have genetically altered them 2 glow in a way... so Ed is coming back on September 7!

For the record, I also would've asked the audience. Although the tomato is not a vegetable, I would've bitten the bullet and said tomato anyway.

On September 7, Ed will get a brand new $16K question, all of his lifelines restored, and a second crack at $1,860,000. Let's see if return trip pays off.

Another food question. Ed has never heard of this, so he's gonna try the audience a second time.

Ay, that's not a good response.

Ed's not happy wit that, so he's gonna take another lifeline. He's gonna phone Dan, a columnist from Colorado. Dan is sure that it's cheese. Ed will agree and make that final.

This time, Ed is right! Emmentaler is another name 4 Swiss cheese. $16,000!

I didn't need the lifelines.

Ed immediately rules out B and D. He's pretty sure that it's A, so he's gonna make that final.
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It's Figaro! He's got $32,000! (fanfare plays)

Ed visualizes the locations of Superior and Huron... then settles on C. That'll be his final answer.
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And he's absolutely right for $64,000!

Ed recalls that Mycroft is involved in some way wit Sherlock Holmes. He says that he is Holmes' archenemy... then quickly recants that. He suddenly remembers that Moriarty is the archenemy. He's gonna gamble on Mycroft. Regis tries convincing Ed 2 use the 50:50, but Ed won't have it. D is his final answer.
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Well, Mycroft did have a Holmes connection.
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He's Sherlock's brother! Ed's got $125,000!

I had absolutely no idea here. I would've asked the audience, but I highly doubt that they would've had a definitive answer. Had they not had one, I would've phoned Eddie Timanus. I don't know if he's a Sherlock Holmes buff in any way, but he'd have been worth a try. If Eddie didn't have a good guess, I would've walked away without using the 50:50. If he had a guess, I would've used the 50:50 and seen if it had remained.

Ed recalls a documentary about Maya Lin around this year... but did it win the Oscar? He's gonna try it. He's gonna make C his final answer.
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HE DID IT AGAIN FOR $250,000!

Even if I had gotten that last question right, I would've been walking on this one. I thought Mandela cuz of his release from prison around that time, but I wouldn't have gambled.

Ed remember when the switch wuz made in school from slide rules 2 calculators. The Hewlett-Packard calculators in his classes used reverse Polish notation. He's gonna say A, final answer.
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YES! HE'S JUST WON A HALF-MILLION!

Ed perked up when this question wuz revealed. He must have an idea on the correct answer. He's finally gonna take that 50:50 and see if his answer is still there.

He says his answer is still there. Now, the $1.86 million question: Will he risk it all on that answer? He said before the show that if he had the 50:50 on the final question, he would risk it. So he's gonna make C, insecticide, his final answer.
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Is it possible that a contestant returning after a bad question on glowing potatoes could walk away as the second biggest game show winner of all time?
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YES!!! ED TOUTANT'S A MILLIONAIRE!!!

All I can say is, "Wow!" Congrats, Ed--you definitely deserved it after all of that hard work!