The 1% Club question leaves viewers divided over whether an ant is an animal
A question on The 1% Club sparked a heated debate among viewers after contestants were asked to identify animals hidden within a sequence of letters.
The ITV quiz, hosted by Lee Mack, aired on Saturday and once again challenged 100 contestants to work their way through 15 logic-based questions. The prize pot can reach £100,000, with the questions becoming progressively more difficult as the percentage of people expected to answer correctly falls.
The opening question is one that 90 per cent of the population is expected to answer correctly, while the game eventually builds towards the notoriously difficult 1% question.
But one question in the latest episode had viewers arguing over something much more basic: what actually counts as an animal?
Viewers clash over the animal question
Contestants were shown the sequence:
PHEASANTORTOISEALION
They were asked: “Without reordering any letters, how many animals appear in the sequence below?”
The intended answer was six. Lee Mack later explained that the animals were pheasant, sealion, ant, seal, tortoise and lion.
That answer did not convince everyone watching at home.
Some viewers argued that an ant should not have been included because it is an insect rather than an animal.
One viewer wrote: “#The1PercentClub An ant is NOT an animal! Outrage!”
Another argued that pheasant is a bird, ant is an insect, while seal and sealion are mammals, concluding that only the lion and tortoise should count.
They added that the question might have been clearer if it had asked how many “creatures” appeared in the sequence.
Others made the same point on social media, with one viewer writing: “#The1PercentClub An ant is an insect not an animal!”
Another agreed: “Ant is an insect.. #The1PercentClub…”
Other viewers insist ants are animals
There was, however, an equally strong response from viewers who pointed out that insects are animals.
One person wrote: “The amount of people on the hashtag saying an ant isn’t an animal… #The1PercentClub.”
Another explained: “To all those saying otherwise. Yes an ant is an animal. All insects are. #The1PercentClub”
A further viewer agreed, writing: “Insects are animals.”
Another offered a more detailed explanation, pointing out that ants are arthropods, as are spiders, crustaceans, centipedes and millipedes.
So while some viewers regarded the wording of the question as misleading, others felt the programme’s answer was scientifically correct.
@1percentclubitv How many animals do you see? 💭#The1PercentClub #quiztime #quiztok ♬ original sound – The 1% Club
One contestant walks away with £2,000
Later in the episode, the game reached its final stage with five contestants still in contention.
The remaining players were offered the chance to take £10,000 and split it between them, meaning each contestant could leave with £2,000, or they could risk their share by attempting the final 1% question.
One player, Christoper, chose to take the money and leave the game.
The other four contestants decided to continue.
They were then given the question:
“The words below share a specific pattern. Why could VOTING also be part of the group?”
The words provided were Bandleader, Nickelodeo and Silverback.
Only one contestant attempted an answer, but it was incorrect. As a result, none of the contestants who continued with the final question won any money.
Viewers call the final question too easy
Lee Mack, 56, revealed the pattern behind the words.
Each contained the name of a metal. Bandleader contains lead, Nickelodeo contains nickel, Silverback contains silver, while VOTING contains tin.
The question immediately prompted another wave of reactions from viewers, this time because many felt the final 1% question was surprisingly straightforward.
One viewer said it was the easiest 1% question they could remember and admitted they initially assumed there must be a catch because it seemed so simple.
Another said they had worked it out within five seconds, pointing to silver and nickel at the beginning of two of the words and tin as the remaining metal hidden within “voting”.
A third viewer said their 12-year-old had also solved it, simply spotting the metals hidden in the words.
Another posted: “That seemed a pretty easy 1% Question to me?!”
Other quiz questions that have left viewers baffled
The 1% Club has previously produced questions that have left both contestants and viewers scratching their heads.
On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, fans were left frustrated by a question they described as the “worst” in the programme’s history.
Host Jeremy Clarkson asked: “From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?”
The options were G, K, M and W.
With £32,000 already secured, contestant Glen had to make a guess. He selected G, and his answer turned out to be correct. Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet are among the actresses to have won the Best Actress Oscar since 2000.
Another memorable question came from The 1% Club itself.
Contestants were told that Edna’s birthday was on 6 April and Jen’s was on 15 October, before being asked why Amir’s birthday must be on a particular date in January.
The trick was based on the position of the numbers within the sentence. The 6th corresponded to the sixth word, while the 15th corresponded to the fifteenth word. Following the same pattern, Amir’s birthday was January 24th, because the relevant number corresponded to the 24th word.
The Chase has also produced its share of head-scratching moments.
One question asked what someone with a nightshade intolerance should avoid eating, with sweetcorn, potatoes and carrots offered as the options. Steve selected sweetcorn, but the correct answer was potatoes.
The latest The 1% Club episode therefore gave viewers plenty to debate, from whether an ant qualifies as an animal to why none of the remaining contestants spotted the metals hidden in the final question.
The 1% Club airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
