If you watched television anytime throughout the mid to late ’90s, you were undoubtedly familiar with the iconic game show that was Who Dares Wins.
WATCH: Mike Whitney dares a couple to strip off in a shopping centre on Who Dares Wins
Hosted by Mike Whitney and Tania Zaetta, the series revolved around the former cricketer surprising an unsuspecting contestant who had been nominated by a viewer of the show to complete a wild (and likely dangerous) stunt for a major prize.
The show also featured a slew of mini dare segments in which Mike would travel the streets and shopping malls of Australia daring locals to complete a task for a small cash prize.
The always-entertaining dares ranged from eating a Maxibon in 30 seconds, to shaving your head, to the more extreme driving off a ten-metre platform into a pool stunt.
In celebration of one of the most wildly entertaining reality shows to ever grace Australian screens, we take a look back at some of the most unusual, hilarious, and straight-up insane moments from Who Dares Wins over the years.
Eat three SAO crackers and whistle a tune in under a minute
As Mike explained, “One cracker is enough to dry your mouth like a sponge, and eating three is difficult enough, when your mouth is bone-dry it’s next to impossible to whistle a tune.”
And while it seemed that while many eager participants were able to get the crackers down, no one was unable to whistle properly – that is, until a man dubbed ‘Big Al’ came and downed the SAOs like a champion while managing to squeeze out a whistle, winning himself $50 in the process.
Jump from a 10-metre platform in the middle of a shopping centre
In a stunt that would most certainly break OHS laws these days, a brave teen named Mandy took on the task of falling from a near-three story platform onto a foam mat (much to her mother’s displeasure) in a shopping mall.
After running through a two-hour training with a stunt co-ordinator, Mandy dropped from the dizzyingly high platform as hundreds of shoppers watched on in shock.
Luckily for everyone involved, Mandy’s jump was successful and she nabbed herself a cool $500 for her bravery.
Have an apple whacked out of your mouth with nunchucks
In another wild stunt that probably wouldn’t fly in today’s world, a young woman is asked if she would be willing to hold an apple in her mouth and have a kung fu master knock it out with nunchucks (we’re sweating over that potential dental bill just thinking about it).
The woman accepts the challenge in a bid to win $50 – and honestly, if I was copping nunchucks to the face I’d probably want a bit more ask, but each to their own.
Luckily for Emily’s face, the stunt went off without a hitch and she, too, became $50 richer.
A woman gets her head shaved and Mike cuts off her ponytail
It’s not every day you find a participant willing to get their hair shaved off for $200, but it seemed Mike was able to find one in a brave young woman named Sally.
But before a hairdresser can give her a buzzcut, Mike got things started by chopping off her ponytail.
As visibly horrified spectators watched on, Sally remained a good sport throughout the whole ordeal – even if she audibly screamed when checking out her new look in the mirror.
Jump out of a Westpac chopper into the ocean to rescue a swimmer
Before we had SAS Australia, we had Mike Whitney on a speedboat while a young man jumps from a Westpac rescue helicopter into the freezing water and rescues a swimmer for $200.
After receiving a crash course in lifesaving, David looked as if he might pull the pin at the last minute as the pressure was on – but he pushed on through, and managed to rescue his “patient” and win the prize money.
Skull a raw emu egg
In a dare that mirrors the disgustingly entertaining Tucker Trials on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Mike managed to convince not one but two men to drink a glass of raw emu egg – which he claimed was “equal to twelve chicken eggs”.
After the first participant failed to get through the entire drink, a young man named Steve barely flinched as he sculled the nauseating concoction – even licking up the remnants of the mixture, much to Mike’s horror.
Strip down to a g-string, have a dress spray-painted on you and do your shopping
When Kenton went shopping that fateful day, we bet he never imagined he would leave in a g-string, heels, and a spray-painted dress as a crowd followed him around the mall.
After sitting half-naked in the middle of the shopping centre for an hour as a dress was painted onto his body, Kenton donned some stylish black heels and was instructed to complete his shopping in his new get-up – with a highly entertained crowd in tow.
