# Amazing Race, May 2nd **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091 "2010-05-03T00:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/41 "2010-05-03T18:09:56Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > I was a little surprised that none of the teams mentioned being terrified during the motorbike ride. When I saw they’d set that up, it seemed like the whole point was to make Shanghai traffic look scary. But they all had a good time with it. I don’t think riding would have wigged me out too much. After all, the guys driving the cycles managed to live to adulthood doing that. What would have absolutely killed me was the Roadblock a few seasons ago where they had to learn to drive in some Indian city. My freaking GOD! Just watching that made me tense up. I almost get panic attacks when I somehow end up having to drive in Philadelphia. I had to drive through southeast DC a couple years ago because of the directions Google Maps gave us and I barely managed to get through that without either having a heart attack or breaking off part of the steering wheel from the white-knuckle gripping I was doing. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/42 "2010-05-03T18:41:46Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > What would have absolutely killed me was the Roadblock a few seasons ago where they had to learn to drive in some Indian city. I’m from Boston, bring it on! ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/43 "2010-05-03T20:16:27Z")
And, as everyone knows, it’s easier to make “foreigners” understand as long as you speak slower and raise your voice a few decibels… ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/44 "2010-05-03T22:16:39Z")
I was sorry to see the cops go. They had such a wonderful attitude. I really wanted to see the whiny little bitch brother get the boot. Oh, well - go cowboys! ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/45 "2010-05-03T22:32:42Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I > What would have absolutely killed me was the Roadblock a few seasons ago where they had to learn to drive in some Indian city. My freaking GOD! Just watching that made me tense up. I almost get panic attacks when I somehow end up having to drive in Philadelphia. I had to drive through southeast DC a couple years ago because of the directions Google Maps gave us and I barely managed to get through that without either having a heart attack or breaking off part of the steering wheel from the white-knuckle gripping I was doing. I went to High School in upstate NY, about 150 miles from NYC. A couple of months after I got my drivers license, I got home from school and Mom called me from work. She said a family friend, a Pan Am pilot, was going to be stranded at JFK airport and she wanted me to drive to the airport and pick him. 16 yrs old, been driving a couple of months, with little knowledge of NYC. I was scared shit-less. But I did it. Of course, the pilot drove home, but not before he got me into my first strip club. Well worth the trip. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/46 "2010-05-03T22:34:48Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I went to High School in upstate NY, about 150 miles from NYC. A couple of months after I got my drivers license, I got home from school and Mom called me from work. She said a family friend, a Pan Am pilot, was going to be stranded at JFK airport and she wanted me to drive to the airport and pick him. 16 yrs old, been driving a couple of months, with little knowledge of NYC. I was scared shit-less. But I did it. Of course, the pilot drove home, but not before he got me into my first strip club. > > Well worth the trip. I had to drive in NYC once, very briefly, when (again) MapQuest took us from Lancaster to White Plains by taking us over the George Washington Bridge. I hate driving in big cities. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/47 "2010-05-04T00:22:07Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > One of my favorite moments was when the detectives saw those 2 jackets hanging on a sign and were convinced that was somehow part of their clue. “I mean, what are the chances of 2 jackets just _being there_?” I have my own theories about the fact that they are detectives with the city of Prvidence, RI, which has a pretty high crime rate. > > I just continue to love the cowboys. The fact that they thanked Mr. Tall Man for having them to Shanghai made me love them more. > > And I was reallllllly hoping that the prize for Brent and Caite coming in first would be a trip to return to Shanghai. I just wonder how many convictions will be appealed because of the dailly inepitude of these two. If these cops put me in prison I’d be looking at these tapes saying no way, they can barely read! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/48 "2010-05-04T01:14:06Z")
> [@brownie55](#): > > I just wonder how many convictions will be appealed because of the dailly inepitude of these two. If these cops put me in prison I’d be looking at these tapes saying no way, they can barely read! [Not necessarily just ineptitude…](http://www.examiner.com/x-39124-Providence-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m3d9-Amazing-Race-contestant-Louis-Stravato-linked-to-RI-police-cocaine-ring-Im-an-open-book) ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/49 "2010-05-04T01:25:00Z")
Can someone recap for me? I missed last night, and my connection is too slow to download it. Give me all the cowboy details. StG ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/50 "2010-05-04T03:01:22Z")
**Recap** for you, **St. Germain** This was a day where city navigation seemed to be the primary difficulty. The first ‘challenge’ was finding the “Garden Bridge”, which for some reason was not straightforward. Brent & Caite found a woman who just looked it up for them on her phone, and she handed them off to a taxi. Cowboys wandered a bit but eventually found their way. The brothers, clearly showing signs of Killer Fatigue, spent two hours in a fruitless search, and finally decided to go back and wait for the detectives to start, following a strategy of not finishing last in hopes that the Speed Bump would give them the edge. Even then, the detectives weren’t of much use - they thought they could locate it merely by walking up to a high point and looking around(?!) for it. This led to the investigation of two “suspicious” jackets left hanging on a sign, no part of which looked like a clue box in the middle of a bridge. Finally they found out through the taxi’s translation service and took separate cabs. We got treated to Jordan throwing a fit when he didn’t think their cabbie understood the words “FOLLOW THAT CAB!” because he wasn’t saying it loud enough. The Garden Bridge clue sent them to a Roadblock at a temple. One hitch was that taxis were not allowed. The cowboys asked their (former) taxi driver if there was a “boat? or train?” to take them there, and ended up being directed to the metro. Everyone else took the bus, but there was probably not a huge difference. Probably the most amusing part of this episode: when the cowboys showed up, they were trying to see if Brent & Caite were there yet. This led to them literally walking within a foot of Brent, who was seated outside waiting, without seeing him even while pointing out their packs. (Brent slyly tried to hide himself a little bit as they passed, and shared a chuckle with the camera). The statue counting wasn’t particularly complicated, except that some people didn’t think to count _all_ the statues, which included two large ones in the room itself, not in the ‘display’ area that was filled with small ones. The cowboys did (in fact, they used . Incorrect guesses led to an enforced ten-minute wait. Despite Brent’s appraisal of her intelligence and a statement that “this will prove she has something upstairs”, Caite was shown having the most trouble with counting big numbers. Detectives had their Speed Bump here - it was nothing more than throwing coins into a small window into a pot (part of a tradition at the temple, so they didn’t even have to leave to do it). Since the no-taxi rule left them tied with the brothers to get there, they didn’t lose too much ground on this task. The final task was a Detour in a market area. Task A was make pork dumplings and deliver them somewhere else, Task B was to locate a chop (jade block stamp several inches high) with their name on it in a shop full of about a thousand or so. Curiously, everyone went for the searching task. Jet & Cord arrived first, but hadn’t found theirs by the time the models arrived. In the shop, Brent started complaining that he needed to pee, while Caite was wholly unsympathetic. Finally, after he’d already stopped searching and just hopped around, she relented and they took a break. The cowboys said even they had started to feel sorry for him, and in fact found Brent’s stamp while he was gone, and put it back in place. They were still searching even when Brent & Caite returned. Jet (I think it was) found his stamp, but pocketed it and whispered to Cord that he had his. Then he commented quietly to the camera that he didn’t want to give the other team any ‘extra motivation’. There seemed to be some competitiveness showing in getting to the top spot for the final (which may explain why they chose the search task). However, Brent & Caite managed to get out first, with the cowboys just a bit behind them. The brothers and detectives were, of course, several hours behind (and since the front teams had never seen them all day, they knew they probably weren’t too close). In the stamp shop, Michael tried to peek under the glass shelves with a flashlight to find the stamps, but as it was translucent this did not aid them. Though they had a legitimate chance here, once the brothers left first they sort of felt their luck had run out. Dan & Jordan forced the girl who gave them directions to walk to the cabbie and tell him where they were going (a smart, if somewhat forward, move). Despite the editing, and both teams arriving after dark, the detectives looked to be several minutes behind, and they were eliminated. One other cowboy detail that came out in some of the conversations. Several years back (2004?), Cord had his skull crushed by a horse’s hoof. Jet’s support helped him through that incident, and it was what led to their close friendship. Next episode San Francisco for the finale. Looks to be something involving carrying a heavy chest, probably up a hill, and either scaling or rapelling on Coit Tower. I would have liked to see an Alcatraz escape worked in somehow, but it doesn’t look like it. ---
**Author:** ![Kaboodle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kaboodle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaboodle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/51 "2010-05-04T03:27:33Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > \ In the shop, Brent started complaining that he needed to pee, while Caite was wholly unsympathetic. Finally, after he’d already stopped searching and just hopped around, she relented and they took a break. \ Is there some rule that says one team member can’t go to the bathroom while the other keeps searching? ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/52 "2010-05-04T04:00:22Z")
I think they have to stay together except when explicitly told otherwise – like at road blocks and such. Makes sense – there’s only one camera for each pairing, and they might miss something important if the team were allowed to split up. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/53 "2010-05-04T12:56:47Z")
I’ve always just assumed the cowboys were friends, because they look not a thing like each other. But last night I noticed the graphic calling them brothers. This may have been explained long ago, but I guess their lack of resemblance caused me to assume they were just buddies. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/54 "2010-05-04T13:23:24Z")
> [@Kaboodle](#): > > Is there some rule that says one team member can’t go to the bathroom while the other keeps searching? Yes, at first Caite told Brent to just go to the bathroom, and he pointed out to her that she’d have to stop searching while he went, at which point she forbade him to go. Followed by a few minutes of him graphically describing just how badly he had to pee, which made me (and presumably other viewers) want to go to the bathroom. Finally they both just left and found a bathroom very close by. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/55 "2010-05-04T18:04:49Z")
I wonder if they turn off the mikes when they’re in the bathroom during a leg or if the Amazing Race crew has an amazing collection of contestant bathroom audio. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/56 "2010-05-04T18:17:51Z")
And don’t forget, last time the Race went to China, a team got eliminated (pun not intended, but unavoidable) because they couldn’t postpone a bathroom break. While searching for Phil & the mat, no less. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/57 "2010-05-04T18:25:14Z")
**panamajack** , that was awesome recapping! Caite seemed to get some weird satisfaction out of telling Brent “Whatever, dude” when he needed to go to the bathroom. I’m trying to imagine a world where I would think it OK to deny anyone the right to pee when they really need to. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/58 "2010-05-04T19:03:32Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > Caite seemed to get some weird satisfaction out of telling Brent “Whatever, dude” when he needed to go to the bathroom. I’m trying to imagine a world where I would think it OK to deny anyone the right to pee when they really need to. There’s a whole [Broadway musical](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinetown) about the concept… ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/59 "2010-05-04T20:19:08Z")
When Brent and Caite were in the bathroom and the Cowboys found Brent’s stamp, would it have been against the rules to put the stamp back in a section of the shop that B&C had already searched? That would have been devious. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091/60 "2010-05-04T20:28:13Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > When Brent and Caite were in the bathroom and the Cowboys found Brent’s stamp, would it have been against the rules to put the stamp back in a section of the shop that B&C had already searched? That would have been devious. I obviously don’t know definitely, but it’s most likely against the rules. Remember when the Stunt Brothers a few seasons ago hid the rickshaw parts when they got to that task first, and got penalized for it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazing-race-may-2nd/538091.md?page=4)