Editing Let's Make a Deal (section)

=== Zonks ===

Traders who choose boxes or curtains are at risk of receiving [[booby prize]]s called "zonks", which can be outlandish items (live animals, junked cars, giant articles of clothing, etc.) or legitimate prizes with relatively very little value (wheelbarrows, giant teddy bears, piles of food, etc.). On rare occasions, a trader receives a zonk that proves to be a cover-up for a valuable prize, such as a fur coat hidden inside a garbage can.

Though usually considered joke prizes, traders legally win the zonks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview with Monty Hall|url=http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22Archive+of+American+Television+Interview+with+Monty+Hall%22&page=1&lv=1#|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720130911/http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Archive%20of%20American%20Television%20Interview%20with%20Monty%20Hall%22&tbm=vid|archive-date=2012-07-20|access-date=2008-06-24|work=Archive of American Television}}</ref> However, after the taping of the show, any trader who had been zonked is offered a consolation prize (currently $100) instead of having to take home the actual zonk. This is partly because some of the zonks are impractical or physically impossible to receive or deliver to the traders (such as live animals or a stagehand wearing an animal costume), or the props are owned by the studio. A disclaimer at the end of the credits of later 1970s episodes read: "Some traders accept reasonable duplicates of zonk prizes." Starting in the 2012–13 season, CBS invited viewers to provide zonk ideas to producers. At the end of the season, the viewer whose zonk was judged the most creative won $2,500, and other viewers' zonk ideas were also used. Whenever a viewer-submitted zonk appeared on the show, the announcer credited its originator. The contest has been continued throughout the past several seasons after its 2012 introduction.<ref>{{cite web|title=Your Zonk Ideas|url=https://www.cbs.com/shows/lets_make_a_deal/photos/191342/your-zonk-ideas-/|website=cbs.com|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=July 31, 2020}}</ref> In some deals, it is possible to win both an actual prize or cash as well as a zonk.