“Bet that ..?”: Titanic editor fools Thomas Gottschalk

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moments in TV history
A satirical editor fools the television nation: he wanted to recognize crayons by their taste

This appearance excited the whole of television in Germany in 1988: one candidate claimed on “Wetten, dass ..?” that he could recognize colored pencils by their taste – but later revealed himself to be an editor for the satirical magazine “Titanic”.

In the 1980s and 90s, “Wetten, dass..?” the most successful TV show in Europe. At its best, more than 20 million people watched. Much of the show’s success is based on people acquiring mindless skills and then demonstrating them on TV. Indeed, over the course of the 215 shows that aired between 1981 and 2014, the craziest bets were made.

One contestant tore up 50 phone books in two and a half minutes. Two brothers were able to use an excavator shovel to place the needle of a record player exactly between two songs on a record. And one candidate recognized 23 blindfolded women from foot odor.

So why shouldn’t there be people who can recognize colored pencils by their taste? And so presenter Thomas Gottschalk did not harbor the slightest suspicion when a certain Thomas Rautenberg appeared on his show on September 3, 1988 with this bet.

A “Titanic” editor sneaked in

What Gottschalk didn’t know: The man’s real name wasn’t Rautenberg – and he couldn’t taste any colors either. In fact, it was the “Titanic” editor Bernd Fritz, who had crept into the show under this name. He did a good job and believably embodied the betting candidate.

When he won the bet, Thomas Gottschalk naturally wanted to know exactly: “How does a person come to recognize pens by their taste?” – “Honestly, Mr. Gottwald, uh, Mr. Gottschalk: I don’t know either.”

The penny didn’t drop immediately: “One day you realized that you had a special taste?” Gottschalk asked. “No, I have no idea how to tell. I can’t, quite simply.”

Only slowly did it dawn on the moderator: “Was it cheating, or what?” Fritz identified himself as the author of the satirical magazine – but did not reveal how he managed to cheat. To whistles from viewers, he explained that the resolution could not be read for three weeks in the next issue of “Titanic”. The explanation was then extremely banal and without any refinement: Fritz confessed to having peeked under the rim of his glasses.

Thomas Gottschalk followed suit

Gottschalk took this as an opportunity to step in at the beginning of the next show: “It could have been easier,” the moderator blasphemed. “One sentence would have been enough. What does he do instead? Four weeks later writes 14 pages in a magazine that nobody reads.”

But Gottschalk wasn’t right about that: For the “Titanic” the appearance was definitely worth it: To this day, this issue is considered the best-selling of the magazine. And also “bet that ..?” survived the cheat without major scratches: the campfire on German television burned for another 26 years before it died down in December 2014.