# Survivor Amazon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2003, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282 "2003-02-02T09:07:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/21 "2003-02-15T16:47:41Z")
Actually, they film the show on the same soundstage where they did the “moon landings.” The anomalies in the photos prove this. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/22 "2003-02-15T16:53:45Z")
I was wondering why there was an American flag flapping in the _breeze_ in the background! ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/23 "2003-02-16T05:09:25Z")
The Questions from Jeff at the Tribal Counsil about \* getting with\* a couple of the women was so…so… IDIOTIC!:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/24 "2003-02-16T11:26:40Z")
Ralph wrote: > [@](#): > > The gals are BOILING their underwear…why don’t they just wash their clothes in the river (the Amazon water is highly acidic,( due to tannic acid from the jungle foliage), and is very pure. Um, because they’re stupid? ---
**Author:** ![David\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@David\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_B)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/25 "2003-02-16T13:54:45Z")
I don’t know that calling them stupid is necessarily correct. But they obviously don’t know as much as ralph does about living in the Amazon. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/26 "2003-02-18T07:53:18Z")
Ralph: Is the entire Amazon basin exactly the same everywhere? Is it possible that the part of the Amazon you experienced is somewhat different from the part of the Amazon where Survivor took place? Also, these people may not have been well prepared, and may not know what you do about the Amazon. That they’re ill prepared for their adventure means that they’re foolish, not that the show’s been staged. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/27 "2003-02-18T14:32:52Z")
The contestants know where they are going ahead of time, don’t they? I mean, the sign-up sites said “Survivor Amazon”, no? Can anyone recall any evidence of a Survivor contestant showing that they really studied up on their intended location ahead of time? In terms of edible plants, insects, weather, survival skills, fishing, or anything else. I’m sure it wouldn’t translate well if put to the test, but I’d have to figure that if someone told me that in a month I’d be spending some time roughing it in the Amazon, or the outback, or Africa, etc, I’d read everything I could about indigenous food, shelter building, materials for tools/shelter/fabric, etc. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/28 "2003-02-18T15:18:21Z")
As I understand it, the contestants do not know where they’re going when they are auditioning for the show–they producers themselves may still be finalizing those plans–but are told before they leave. Not sure how much advance notice they get, or what they’re told they’ll have for equipment. I agree, though, that a smart contestant should spend some serious time learning how to fish before shipping off to parts unknown. Make friends at the local bait shop and/or take a trip to the beach for some shore casting. It _is_ possible to feed yourself halfway decently by catching fish, but nobody so far seems to have figured out how to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/29 "2003-02-18T15:42:13Z")
Yeah. The only fish so far were Rich’s spearings. All my life I’ve read stories about folk stranded in the wilderness and making hooks out of bent pins, etc. Yet these folk have hooks and nets, and get nothing! Did a quick google, and this old application: [http://www.chadmriden.com/whoaskedforit/application.htm](http://www.chadmriden.com/whoaskedforit/application.htm) says you must be prepared to travel to an island off Borneo. Which would give applicants a heads up on starting their research. I thought there was only one where the location was advertised as a “mystery.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/30 "2003-02-18T15:52:56Z")
**Dinsdale,** if you drop the net where the fish aren’t, you’ll not catch anything. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/31 "2003-02-18T15:56:51Z")
That’s the S1 application, when Burnett had plenty of time to figure out a location in advance. Since then, it’s been a little more fluid, so I don’t think they’re telling anyone where it will be when they’re trying out. The Marquesas series was originally supposed to be shot in Jordan, until 9/11 made the Middle East too dicey. They ended up switching to Marquesas with [less than two months until filming started](http://www.truedorktimes.com/s4/calendar.htm). Plus, a fair number of contestants these days were cast in auditions for earlier shows, so telling someone where S7 will be won’t do them any good if they end up on S8. No, I’m not sending in a tape! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/32 "2003-02-18T15:58:24Z")
The trick, **Ethilrist** , is knowing where (and how) to drop the net. That’s something that can be learned, though the contestants so far seem not to have made the effort. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/33 "2003-02-18T17:12:25Z")
My friend who visits the amazon often says that it looks nothing like the show. It’s supposed to be miles of green jungle & tropical plants. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/34 "2003-02-18T17:15:51Z")
I believe we saw green jungle and tropical plants in the show, handy. As Number Six surmised, I don’t think every square inch of the Amazon is identical to every other square inch. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/35 "2003-02-18T17:29:27Z")
And furthermore, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the campsites have been very carefully groomed. Underbrush swept out, major animal nests removed, and so on. It wouldn’t do, after all, to to discover you had set your contestants down on top of an army ant nest, or something, that you hadn’t noticed in all the foliage. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282/36 "2003-02-18T23:50:33Z")
“And furthermore, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the campsites have been very carefully groomed.” Where do you think they plug in the cameras & lights? Some electrical outlet in one of the trees? Naw, they got the whole thing scooped out, there is even a medical tent nearby, out of camera range, I bet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-amazon/152282.md?page=1)