# Hole in the Wall **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549 "2008-09-08T00:24:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/21 "2008-09-08T19:20:37Z")
> [@justafriend](#): > > Oh, and we think the secret to the hole-being-too-small thing is to think three dimensionally. If any of the contestants turned their body a bit, they could have fit through easily. Going at it a ninety degree angle made some of them nearly impossible. This. The only disappointment this show had for me was the lack of 3-d thinking. For example, for the fat guy 1 man wall the pose of a guy bent at a 90 degree angle with a leg up behing him. Of course, the leg behind hole was too short, and putting the leg behind threw him off balance. He didn’t realize that there was no reason to put the back leg up, as he could just put his back leg directly behind the front leg. Also, the three fat guys through the little hole would have been easier if one or two guys went forward instead of just making a pile. Also, I think the abstract shapes are easier than the cutouts of a person, because the contestants seem to think they are obligated to match the pose of the person. I was impressed by the guy making it through the [ hole. Anyway, I thought the show was great campy fun. Some of the commentary was great. “After coming in third at an arm-wrestling competition, Jimmy now spends 7 days a week working on his abs. Must be a fulfilling life.” It’s amazing how naturally those guys mounted each other." ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/22 "2008-09-08T20:33:45Z")
I laughed pretty hard the first couple of times at the wall and then…not so much. Very little staying power on this one. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/23 "2008-09-08T20:47:21Z")
> [@Taber](#): > > Also, I think the abstract shapes are easier than the cutouts of a person, because the contestants seem to think they are obligated to match the pose of the person. I was impressed by the guy making it through the [ hole. Exactly. This game actually has a thinking component. The holes are cut to suggest a particular stance. But the suggestion is completely misleading! Players need to think about how to get through, not how to perform the naive position. I was forced to watch this show, but I liked it better than I expected. It rewards fast thinking as much as raw physicality. And the progression of challenges keeps the losing team in the running for a win without trivializing the results of the first rounds. Overall, it’s a simple, but well-designed, game. And the expressions as they slip and tumble into the pool is hilarious. 🙂 ---
**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:** [September 8, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/24 "2008-09-08T20:57:23Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Exactly. This game actually has a thinking component. The holes are cut to suggest a particular stance. But the suggestion is completely misleading! Players need to think about how to get through, not how to perform the naive position. Except there have to be some rules about it. The platform where they stood had a rectangle just in front of the pool labeled “playing area” or some such. Otherwise, you could just run forward to meet the wall and buy yourself some time to wriggle your way through. And when those three guys had to fit through one hole, why not just lie end-to-end? For that matter, you could fit through almost any wall by just lying on your stomach or side and presenting the smallest possible profile. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/25 "2008-09-09T00:44:54Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > That is the most hilariously fucked-up thing I’ve seen in months. I was actually crying while trying to laugh as quietly as the contestants. My eyes were watering in sympathy when they plucked the one guy’s nose hair–but I couldn’t stop laughing, either!! You ought to watch this–somehow I don’t see this catching on in the US!! 🙂 ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Z_nIuyei9Kw/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z_nIuyei9Kw?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/26 "2008-09-09T15:10:43Z")
> [@Chanteuse](#): > > You ought to watch this–somehow I don’t see this catching on in the US!! 🙂 > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z\_nIuyei9Kw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_nIuyei9Kw) Well, that one doesn’t resonate as much with me - I hear people struggling with English all the time, just as I struggle with French. I have trouble not laughing at the punishments, though. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/27 "2008-09-09T15:44:29Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Or… it was just a waste of perfectly good styrofoam. Oh believe me–that styrofoam had it coming. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/28 "2008-09-09T16:17:24Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > If the leg hole is too short then you can’t just stick it out parallel to the wall, you need to rotate a bit to shorten the silhouette of your leg. That … um … may not be a LEG hole. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/29 "2008-09-09T22:44:23Z")
I only saw a minute of the US version, and unfortunately I don’t speak Japanese, either, so I have a question about the rules… take [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYXObIS5_AM) video of the Japanese orginial: about 18 seconds in they show a sort of child-cartoon shape. Do players _have to_ attempt to conform to the shape? Because I think I could probably get through the head shape of that one without worrying about the rest of the shape. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549/30 "2008-09-09T23:05:04Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Do players _have to_ attempt to conform to the shape? Because I think I could probably get through the head shape of that one without worrying about the rest of the shape. In that clip, and on the show, they show a diagram of the “intended” body position solution. In that case, the tiny cut-out arms and legs were useless. I’d like to see (other than simply more walls per show) a comedian as a co-host, doing nothing but relentlessly and mercilessly ridiculing the show itself. Something like what MST3K does to movies, but actually during the show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hole-in-the-wall/462549.md?page=1)