In January 2001, Ed Toutant was one question away from the biggest night of his life on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, needing to answer the $16,000 question to keep his shot at $1.86 million alive. The question asked which vegetable had been genetically engineered to glow when it needed water. Toutant answered tomato. The show said potato, and sent him home. Except the show was wrong. Researchers had, in fact, worked on glowing tomatoes, and the specific experiment the question referenced had actually happened in Scotland, not England as the question stated. Producers reviewed the complaint, agreed the question was flawed, and did something game shows almost never do: they invited Toutant back and reset the jackpot to exactly where it stood before his original loss. He returned in September 2001, cleared the $16,000 question this time, and kept going. On his final question, about what World War II soldiers used aerosol cans for, he used his last lifeline and answered insecticide. He wasn't just right, he'd become one of the show's biggest winners ever, all because someone was willing to admit the test itself had been broken.

In January 2001, Ed Toutant was one question away from the biggest night of his life on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, needing to answer the $16,000 question to keep his shot at $1.86 million alive. The question asked which vegetable had been genetically engineered to glow when it needed water. Toutant answered tomato. The show said potato, and sent him home. Except the show was wrong. Researchers had, in fact, worked on glowing tomatoes, and the specific experiment the question referenced had actually happened in Scotland, not England as the question stated. Producers reviewed the complaint, agreed the question was flawed, and did something game shows almost never do: they invited Toutant back and reset the jackpot to exactly where it stood before his original loss. He returned in September 2001, cleared the $16,000 question this time, and kept going. On his final question, about what World War II soldiers used aerosol cans for, he used his last lifeline and answered insecticide. He wasn't just right, he'd become one of the show's biggest winners ever, all because someone was willing to admit the test itself had been broken.