Game Show Contestant's Epic Homer Simpson Fail Goes Viral: 'We Are All Doomed'

A game show contestant has suffered the misfortune of mistaking a quiz question about Greek epic poet Homer for one about Homer Simpson from The Simpsons.

To make matters worse, his response has ended up going viral on social media, prompting a wider debate around education standards in the process.

Dom, a primary school teacher from Manchester in the U.K., found himself at the center of a social media storm after answering a tricky question on the ITV quiz series Tipping Point.

In the latest episode, host Ben Shephard asked: "In his epic poems, Homer often refers to nectar as the drink of the Gods and what substance as their food?"

A question related to the 750 B.C. epic poet Homer, best known for his reputed works the Iliad and the Odyssey, the correct answer would have been "ambrosia."

However, in a fit of panic, Dom heard the name Homer and immediately associated the question with The Simpsons.

"I know he likes donuts," Dom responded in an apparent reference to Homer Simpson's love of the iced pastry treat. "I think I'll go with....donuts please, Ben."

The clip ended up going viral on Twitter after being posted online by Graeme Douglas, who commented: "Ben Shepherd's face is perfect." At the time of writing, it had been viewed 1 million times.

But while the quiz master's expression on the clip has been a source of much amusement to some, for others, Dom's response represents a sad indictment of modern education standards as a whole.

"We are all doomed," IanBaruch wrote. "These people are using up oxygen."

"And voting," Son_Lyme added. DBattistella described Dom's response as "deeply sad."

"Many of us worry a lot about kids getting an education in developing countries, and we often forget just how lousy education is for many kids in our own backyard," they wrote.

"The Iliad was required reading when I was at school," KatieLeeMars added.

Others like xCat15x sought to defend Dom's answer. "I mean yeah, granted it's hilarious, but also let's not be snobby to the point of saying nonsense like 'and THESE people can vote,'" they wrote. "Not everyone studies classics as part of their education."

AshAgender agreed: "I would much rather that people know actual details about real life things as opposed to a minor fact from Greek mythology."

The149thBishop, meanwhile, commented: "I don't really know why everyone is acting all surprised that Homer Simpson has more cultural penetration in 2021 than an Ancient Greek poet."

In a further defense of Dom's blunder, several other notable game show mistakes were highlighted by others commenting on the tweet.

They included one woman who named Belgium as a city in Holland and a man who gave an answer of "blue pepper" rather than "green" when responding to a question about food.

Newsweek has contacted Shephard for comment.

Ancient Greek literature has been linked with vocabulary building and improved grammar comprehension among young students.

According to Illinois Wesleyan University: "Roughly 60% of all English words and 90% of technical and scientific terms are derived from ancient Greek and Latin," with knowledge of both proving especially beneficial to anyone seeking a career in law or medicine.

While Dom may be in the spotlight over his game show gaffe, he's not the first person to go viral online after making a major blunder.

One man recently proved to be a hit on Twitter after posting a video of his reaction to falling up a flight of stairs while carrying a meal.

Even President Joe Biden has got in on the act, with his recent Town Hall appearance proving a veritable gold mine for blunders performed for all the world to see.