Bet lost, sympathy won. Using two forklift trucks to connect a mobile phone and a charging cable - that's what Antonia Fleig and Michelle Chevalier wanted to demonstrate in the final show of "Wetten Dass? In the end, it wasn't quite enough to win the bet. Nevertheless, Antonia and Michelle delivered a great performance.
2023-12-04
Saturday evening, the family gathers in front of the television. And with them, no less than 12 million other viewers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Thomas Gottschalk takes to the stage, curly-haired as ever, and more or less famous stars gather on the couch. And people like you and me demonstrate all the weird and wonderful things they can do with everyday gadgets big and small. "You could go on "Wetten Dass?!" with that. This sentence is now history. The show, which has attracted millions of people to the screen over many decades, is now coming to a well-deserved end.
But in the big farewell programme, Antonia Fleig and Michelle Chevalier, both employees of KION subsidiary Linde Material Handling, were once again able to show what people with the right flair can do with forklift trucks. The two of them don't actually sit in the seat of a forklift truck in everyday life. Antonia learnt the job of warehouse logistics specialist from scratch. However, she now works as a production logistics specialist at Linde. Michelle, on the other hand, is studying marketing and is currently working as a student trainee at Linde, primarily in product management.
Antonia and Michelle from Aschaffenburg are betting that they can plug a charging cable into a socket and then connect it to a mobile phone within three and a half minutes with the help of two forklift trucks from KION brand Linde Material Handling.
On site, the contestants Antonia and Michelle were actively supported by Service Engineer Philipp Spinnler.
Both of them already knew a little about what goes on behind the scenes at big shows. After all, they have already had a taste of the show at this year's StaplerCup in forklift driving. Backstage, they were able to observe how excited the other candidates were just before their runs. "Of course, I already had it in the back of my mind that I would soon be doing this too," says Michelle, laughing.
But there was little sign of nervousness during their big moment. Michelle and Antonia answered Thomas Gottschalk's questions in a relaxed manner and didn't let themselves get rattled when he changed the programme without further ado and asked them to greet the stars directly on the couch - contrary to what had been agreed beforehand. "That was pretty cool," says Antonia. "With such a big live show, things can go haywire and you have to be able to be spontaneous," adds Michelle and continues: "I found it very reassuring to see that things don't actually run any differently with such a big production than they do at our events."
However, they both agree that the best experience was getting tips on how to cope with the excitement during rehearsals from none other than Matthias Schweighöfer. "He was so likeable and funny and encouraged us that we could do it," says Antonia of her encounter with the successful actor.
Both riders managed the bet without any problems, both in the dress rehearsal and in almost all of the previous practice runs. However, it was the changed conditions during the live broadcast that caused them problems. "The light came directly from above and was much brighter than during the rehearsals, the ground was also much softer and gave way," says Antonia. "And then there's probably a bit of excitement when families, colleagues and half of Germany are watching."
Even though the families were unable to show their lovingly crafted posters, as they were probably a little too large for the taste of the TV production at 2x1 metres, Antonia and Michelle knew they had their families, friends and colleagues behind them. "We later received photos and videos," says Antonia proudly and Michelle also praises the great support.
During the live show, the plug of the charging cable jammed when it was plugged into the power strip. This meant that valuable time was lost and Antonia and Michelle had to start all over again. In the end, there wasn't quite enough time for the second attempt.
Murphy's law had struck. But as we all know, you have to learn to deal with disappointment. And when that happens in front of such a large audience, it's a completely different challenge.
Antonia and Michelle mastered the lost bet with flying colours. They confidently countered the presenter's attempts to find someone to blame. They left the stage with their heads held high and a smile on their faces. And rightly so - after all, they were able to experience a very special highlight at the start of their professional careers.
