1. Wheel of Fortune has taped more than 4,600 shows and featured more than 12,000 contestants.
2. If Wheel of Fortune was a primetime show, it would rank among the top 25 most-watched prime-time shows and outrank almost 90 percent of prime-time shows, including Ugly Betty and My Name is Earl.
3. The famous wheel, including its base, weighs 4,000 pounds.
4. Vanna stopped "turning" letters on the puzzleboard in 1997, thanks to an electronic touch-screen puzzleboard.
5. There is only one electronic puzzleboard, which cost more than $450,000 to create, and only one wheel. When the show tapes in other cities, these pieces are shipped to the new location.
6. Wheel of Fortune debuted in 1975 as an NBC daytime program with Chuck Woolery as host. The syndicated version debuted in 1983.
7. When Wheel of Fortune debuted, only six categories were used for puzzles. Now, there are 40.
8. Each season, Wheel of Fortune researchers prepare nearly 2,000 puzzles.
9. Wheel of Fortune began taking the show on the road in 1988. Typically, the show travels to three cities annually to shoot episodes. About 125 staff and crew travel with the show, and more than 1 million pounds of equipment and scenery are transported to a venue.
10. Vanna White doesn't get to keep the dresses she wears on the show. They are returned to the designer or donated to a charity through a silent auction. If her wardrobe were to be purchased, it would retail at more than $200,000 per season.
11. When the show is taping on the road, Wheel of Fortune's wardrobe team packs more than 40 pairs of shoes and 250 pieces of jewelry for Vanna White to wear.
12. Pat Sajak does wear some of his favorite suits twice-from Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss and Ermenegildo Zegna-often mixing up the ties and shirts.
13. Before he was selected as host of the syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak was a weatherman for KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, and host of The Sunday Show, a public affairs program.
14. Vanna White surprises the contestants by greeting them before she gets her hair and makeup done.
15. Due to game show regulations, contestants are sequestered on the day of their taping and cannot have any contact with outside individuals.
16. Wheel of Fortune tapes five to six shows in one day, with Pat Sajak and Vanna White changing clothes between each taping.
17. Contestants stand on platforms that have been adjusted for their height to make sure they are in a comfortable position to spin the wheel.
18. A "used letterboard" positioned at the side of the Wheel of Fortune stage helps contestants stay focused on the puzzle solving.
19. The bonus wheel was added in 2001. Contestants who go to the bonus round have the chance to win cash amounts ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 or a new car, depending on which one of the 24 wedges they land on.
20. The bonus wheel must revolved 360 degrees or the contestant has to spin again.
21. In September 2006, Wheel of Fortune and its sister show Jeopardy! became the first two syndicated shows to be produced in high-definition.
22. Since its inception, Wheel of Fortune has awarded more than $171 million in cash and prizes to its contestants.
23. In 1992, the Guinness Book of World Records listed Vanna White as the world's most frequent clapper. She puts her hands together for contestants an average of 720 times per show.
24. If a studio audience member calls out the answer to a puzzle during a taping, the puzzle is discarded and replaced with a new puzzle.
25. The Wheelmobile visits 25 cities each year to audition contestants for the show. About 100,000 Wheel of Fortune fans turn out for Wheelmobile contestant search events each season.
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