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One of the most interesting features of the show was the weekly "Thought Twister", which occurred at random times, once per broadcast. The Thought Twister was unusual in that it had exactly the same form every week, only the names, which always rhymed, and two of the words, which also rhymed, changed; for example, Dr. IQ would say, "'That cat is fat', said Matt to Pat. 'That cat IS fat, Matt', to him said Pat." Then the contestant would have to repeat the sentences verbatim, which most contestants failed to do because of the unusual twist at the end. Even regular listeners to the show, who were aware of the tricky form, usually tripped up. 76.247.165.2 (talk) 21:21, 21 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thus, the audience was typically composed of residents from the surrounding area. Microphones were positioned throughout the audience.[citation needed]
The basic premise of the game involved assistants who wandered the theater looking for audience members to play the game. When the assistant found someone willing to play, he or she would say, "I have a gentleman in the balcony, Doctor!" or something similar. The host would then say, depending on the difficulty of the question: "Two (more or less) silver dollars and a box of Mars Bars if you can answer this!" Then he would pose a general-knowledge question to the contestant. A correct answer would win the stated dollar amount and candy in the first part of the game and $20 in the second part; incorrect answers would result in a $1 consolation prize. All prizes were paid in silver dollars. A home listener was selected each week to play the game via telephone.[citation needed]
At some point during the show, a jingle would play, and the contestant would get a chance to spin the "Wisdom Wheel," which would contain prize amounts from $1 to $100, each of which corresponded to a question whose difficulty increased with the prize amount. Other features were the "Biographical Sketch" and the "Thought Twister". For "The Lady in the Balcony" a female contestant in the theater balcony was asked a series of five questions. She would be allowed five incorrect answers. If she had any misses still available after five questions, she would return the following week to face five more questions with the remaining misses in play. If she was able to survive four weeks without incorrectly answering five questions, she won a jackpot prize.[citation needed]
The television version did not tour to various cities. The first run of the television show was broadcast from the Elysee Theater in New York City, while the second run was broadcast from Studio D of the ABC Television Center in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
