“Millionaires”: The biggest controversies. The court answered the question about Kaiser rolls

“Millionaires” New Year’s Eve episode in 2000. He sits in the player’s chair Waldemar Jabłoński from Lublin. Correctly answers the first four questions asked by Hubert Urbański and wins PLN 500. The fifth question for PLN 1,000 appears on the screen. It concerns cuts on the kaiser roll. The player says that such a roll has four cuts and is confident in his answer. Unfortunately it turns out that the computer indicates player error, because the Kaiser rolls have 5 notches.

Video

Zdanowicz between the lines. Episode 75: Joanna and Krzysztof Ibisz
INTERIA.PL

Ultimately, Waldemar Jabłoński had to say goodbye to further playing and, what’s worse, he left the studio without any winnings. The guaranteed amount at that time was also PLN 1,000. zloty. Today, to receive it, you only need to answer 2 questions correctly, but over two decades ago you had to give 5 correct answers.

The player from Lublin decided not to give up. After returning home, he studied several encyclopedias and dictionaries, which confirmed his belief that he was right.

“I reached PLN 500 when I was asked “how many cuts does a Kaiser roll have?” I answered four. According to the computer – five. I did not agree with this answer. But I was forced to stop playing. At home, I studied the source materials again and made sure “that I was right, not the computer,” he said in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza.

Waldemar Jabłoński decided to write a complaint and sent it to the creators of the program. He accomplished nothing. He received a response from the commission appointed in this matter: “The sources you cited say that Kaiser roll is a roll cut crosswise, but the term “cross” should be taken as a symbolic rather than a literal one. No Kaiser roll is cut crosswise because the cuts are arcuate and there are no cross-cut Kaiser jackets on sale,” said the program’s appeal committee. “Millionaires”.

Take the quiz: “Millionaires”. The players couldn’t answer these questions

In short, the complaint was rejected. However, this was by no means the end of the scandal. Waldemar Jabłoński did not give up so easily.

The player engaged a lawyer in the case. He sent a special letter on his behalf to the management board of TVN station. He emphasized that although rolls with five cuts are sold in our country, four cuts are allowed.

“Without questioning the fact that a kaiser roll may have five cuts, it should be noted that based on the information contained in generally recognized sources of knowledge available in Poland, the answer given by Waldemar Jabłoński, i.e. four cuts, was equally acceptable and correct,” the lawyer wrote.

The case went to court. There, dictionary definitions of kajzerka were taken into account. The court found Waldemar Jabłoński’s claims groundless. The producers of the program won the case. However, to alleviate the situation, it was decided to invite Waldemar Jabłoński to the “Millionaires” studio once again. The player again sat in front of Hubert Urbański… he also lost on the PLN 1,000 question.

The question about Kaiser rolls was not the only one that was criticized. Various experts have repeatedly emphasized that the issues presented in the TVN game show were poorly formulated. This was the case with the compass or ruler, as a symbol of a certain association, and the question about profession Agata Duda or about the passions of Jarosław Kaczyński.

Quite recently, a controversial question about sports was asked on the air: “In what sports discipline did Halina Konopacka win Poland’s first ever Olympic gold medal?” The player had four answers to choose from: “A) in discus throwing, B) in karate, C) in surfing, D) in table tennis.”

Viewers noticed the mistake immediately. The question was worded incorrectly because not all of the given answer options are disciplines. Discus throwing is an athletics event, not a separate discipline. This time, however, there was no trial.

See also:

“Millionaires”. In Mickiewicz’s “Forefathers’ Eve”: “They walk in equal arms, or what?

“Millionaires”. Is Agrykola a female or male name?

“Millionaires”. Is the white cross of the Maltese knights similar to the coat of arms of Wejherowo or Malta?