Free Vowel was one of the gameplay elements on Shopper's Bazaar, the pilot of Wheel of Fortune. It is notable for being one of the elements of the pilot not to carry over to the series, although individual functions of it later did.
History[]
A single wedge used only in the Shopper's Bazaar pilot between $100 and $250 in Rounds 1-2 ($400 and $350 in Rounds 3-4) which allowed the player who landed on it to pick a vowel at no cost, although she still lost her turn if the vowel was not present. As the wedge was hit about five times (no more than twice in a single round), it is not known what happened if it was landed on after all vowels in the puzzle were revealed.
While Free Vowel was dropped from the format after Bazaar, it returned 36 years later as part of Free Play.