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Double Dip

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Double Dip was a new lifeline introduced in the U.S. in 2004 during Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire. In 2008, it replaced 50:50 for the clock format but was discontinued in 2010 when the Shuffle format began. When a contestant uses this lifeline, it allows them to answer twice on the same question.

Usage[]

This lifeline allowed the contestant to make two guesses on a question, but required them to play out the question, forbidding them to walk away or use any further lifelines. The lifeline did not get reinstated if the first guess turned to be correct.

On Super Millionaire, this lifeline (alongside Three Wise Men) was only given to contestants who had correctly answered the tenth question, the second milestone level. As the penalty for an incorrect answer to a top-tier question was usually hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars (e.g., answering the 13th question incorrectly would make a contestant lose $900,000 and winning $100,000), and that contestants who chose to use Double Dip were forced to answer the question no matter what, the host Regis Philbin used to ask contestants who intended to use Double Dip for confirmation that they really want to use the lifeline before actually letting them have their two guesses.

On the clock format of the U.S. show, this lifeline was available to contestants as soon as they began their game (they no longer needed to earn it). Once a contestant stated that they wanted to use this lifeline, the lifeline would automatically activate (a manual confirmation was no longer required), and the clock would immediately stop to let contestants make their first guess. If it turned to be incorrect, the host would give a brief explanation and the clock would resume. Contestants who failed to make their second guess before the clock expired were penalized as if they answered incorrectly and would flunk out, and their winning would go back down to the last guaranteed sum (normally, they would be forced to walk away with what they had won up to where they are).

International versions[]

Trivia[]

"You_only_have_3_seconds_left.."_-_Who_Wants_to_be_a_Millionaire_-Old_Format-

"You only have 3 seconds left.." - Who Wants to be a Millionaire -Old Format-

Stephanie Osorio has 3 seconds left to give another answer, but fails to do so, ending her game without second guessing with Double Dip.

"You're_not_allowed_to_walk_away"_-_Who_Wants_to_be_a_Millionaire_Old_Format

"You're not allowed to walk away" - Who Wants to be a Millionaire Old Format

Ed Mitchell tries to walk away instead of giving a second answer with Double Dip as time ran out. Meredith then remarks that "you can't walk away with Double Dip".

  • On Super Millionaire, because this lifeline would disallow the contestant's option to walk away, the Double Dip required a confirmation in order to manually activate the lifeline. For some reason, in the U.S. clock format, the lifeline was automatically activated as soon as the contestant asked for it.
    • This caused some contestants, such as Stephanie Osorio and Ed Mitchell, to forget about the timer and/or the fact that they are not allowed to walk away when time resumes (running out of time before giving a second answer with Double Dip has the same effects as answering a question incorrectly). Stephanie was unable to lock in To Kill a Mockingbird as her second answer in three seconds (this would have also been wrong however), while Ed tried to walk away without giving a second answer as time ran out, as Meredith explained afterward that "you can't walk away with Double Dip".
  • In versions of the game that feature both Double Dip and 50:50, it is possible for a contestant to use their 50:50 to eliminate two of the wrong answers, and then use their Double Dip to determine the correct answer; nevertheless the rule regarding this is that they must use the 50:50 lifeline first. Although this possibility was discussed between Robert Essig and Regis Philbin on Super Millionaire and mentioned by other contestants, no contestant on Super managed to keep their 50:50 lifeline past the $100,000 milestone question. However, in other countries' versions, such as the Russian, Turkish, Filipino, and Austrian versions, a few contestants managed to use both lifelines on the same question.
  • The first contestant in the world to use Double Dip on the final question was Prashant Batar. He incorrectly answered the same final question twice, causing the million pound lose cue to play twice as well.
  • In the Thai, Dutch, and Costa Rican versions, using Double Dip does not prevent the contestant to walk away. It also does not prevent the contestant from using another lifeline on the question.
  • In the Vietnamese unlicensed version during early years, contestant can choose two answers in the same time instead of waiting the host announced the first answer is the right or wrong answer.

Gallery[]

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