Wheel of Fortune: Question About The Short-Lived "Buy A Vowel" Wedge

[CardSharks8689]

How did the "Buy A Vowel" wedge work when it appeared on the wheel during the pilot and in 1975?

Makes it sound like you just spin the wheel, land on it, and you have to buy a vowel for a fixed price.

If this was the case, what if a contestant landed on such space, and all the vowels in play were called?

[TheKid965]

Because there are no circulating episodes with the Buy a Vowel space on the wheel, most of what we know about it is based on conjecture and the fading memories of those who actually saw those episodes. Based on anecdotal evidence, it seems it worked like this:

You could always choose to buy a vowel at any time once you had the money for it, just as you can now. If you spun Buy a Vowel, however, you had to buy one whether you liked it or not, at the normal $250 price. If you couldn't afford it, or there were no vowels remaining, you lost your turn. (Unknown at this late date: If you still had to pay even if there were no more vowels.)

[Lingofan97]

Because there are no circulating episodes with the Buy a Vowel space on the wheel, most of what we know about it is based on conjecture and the fading memories of those who actually saw those episodes. Based on anecdotal evidence, it seems it worked like this:

You could always choose to buy a vowel at any time once you had the money for it, just as you can now. If you spun Buy a Vowel, however, you had to buy one whether you liked it or not, at the normal $250 price. If you couldn't afford it, or there were no vowels remaining, you lost your turn. (Unknown at this late date: If you still had to pay even if there were no more vowels.)

That wasn't air fair piece on the puzzle at all. I would have hated that, and whoever added that was out of their mind.