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 It was in this pageant where the isolation booth was introduced, or the “sound-proof booth” as Bob Barker fully described it. All the finalists were asked by the same, single question, “In the next day or so, a man will land on the moon. If a man from the moon landed in your hometown, what would you do to entertain him?”
Miss Finland was so stunned with the question that she paused for a second before she said, “ My town is so small. I’ll go out and have fun with him, I suppose.”
Miss Israel also had the same reaction. She looked like she searched for an answer and yet her brain just wouldn’t work or function at that very moment. She made an excuse that she could not express her thoughts in English so that Bob willingly cooperated with her and said, “Then go ahead and answer in Yiddish, Miss Israel”. The audience laughed so hard after Bob’s remark even if the said host did not intend to make fun of the delegate. Miss Israel still tried so hard to express herself in English that all she could say was, “I would just do whatever I can --- “ and then she faded in her answer and concluded it with a smile.
Miss Australia was so shocked with the question that she was tongue-tied for a long while. Like Miss Israel, she also mentally groped for answers but nothing came out from her “shell”. She tried to conceal her panicky self with her faint, nervous smile until finally, she reluctantly answered, “A song and dance . . .” for which Bob rephrased, restated and revalidated the answer for her if she would render a “song-and-dance” number to “the man from the moon”. She nodded in agreement and Bob dismissed her gracefully.
Then, it was Gloria’s turn. After Bob read to her the question, she immediately answered, “Oh! Uh, just the same things I do. I think if he has been on the moon for so long, I think when he comes over he wants to change, I guess.”
Bob was tickled with Gloria’s response that all he could say was, “Very good!”
Miss Japan required a language interpreter. The female Japanese interpreter was seated in a booth similar to a typical speech laboratory that was located way across from where the live audience sat down. When the female Japanese interpreter spoke on the microphone (that looked like a headphone) to translate Miss Japan’s answers, she exhibited so much difficulty that her English translations became vague and fragmented. Alas, the language interpreter, herself, seemed to be also in need of her own translator! The only clear statement from her translation was, “She (referring to Miss Japan) will show him Nagoya.” Miss Japan got a 4th Runner-up finish in the end.
In the final analysis, Gloria walked away that night with the crown, sash, scepter and cape as the first Miss Universe from the Philippines. “Lady Luck” was definitely with her that night! Oh, what a moment for jubilation!
Miss Finland and Miss Australia ended up as Gloria’s 1st and 2nd Runners-up, respectively. Miss Israel, on the other hand, got the 3rd Runner-up placement.
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