# TAR 4/28: "Working Our Barrels Off" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964 "2013-04-28T23:22:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/21 "2013-04-29T11:10:04Z")
I’m not sad to see Wayland Flowers and Meghan go (his high pitched squeals were really getting to me), but I also don’t want Max and Katie to win either. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/22 "2013-04-29T11:47:11Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > We were wondering if Bates & Anthony were going to get a penalty for carrying their barrels. I wasn’t sure if the clue had actually said to roll them or not. If it did, there SHOULD have been a penalty. Not that it would have made a difference, considering the time gap between the first three and the last two teams. I suspect the editors included a little musical head-fake suggesting some kind of misstep right about the time that Bates proposed carrying the barrels. They didn’t go full zither; very sneaky. Anyway, when I heard that, I rewound to the description of the task. Phil’s verbal description did not specify the manner in which they moved the barrels. So, even though the name of the task was barrel rolling, there was nothing in the description to prohibit carrying them. I have to give credit to Joey and Meghan for their effort on the barrel rolling. I thought it would be extremely difficult and would elicit lots of unpleasantness, but they showed great character instead. Max & Katie have not been shown to be as obviously ugly the past couple of episodes. Editing, or are they just feeling less bitchy because they are having success? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/23 "2013-04-29T11:52:29Z")
I call shenanigans, as those were clearly empty barrels. A full forty-gallon whiskey barrel would weigh about 350 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/24 "2013-04-29T12:52:15Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > Because for some reason, the teams that are in the lead want to be magnanimous, and show how wonderful they are by not u-turning anyone, so that leaves the last couple of teams to do the u-turning of whoever’s behind _them_. Yeah, I seem to be more of this theory than the theories **obfusciatrist** and **jayjay** explained. There’s been a big “I Don’t Want To Look Like An Overachieving Competitive Asshole On National TV” thing going on, and while yeah, that makes sense, but OTOH hand it just takes away more competitive spirit than anything else. There has to be some kind of balance there. If I were going to u-turn a team, why would I u-turn a team that’s so far behind me to gain a few more minutes? To me, it would make more sense to u-turn the team that’s playing stealth so they don’t suddenly pull out in front of you. Maybe not the team directly behind you, but the team behind them ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/25 "2013-04-29T13:01:08Z")
Because until the last leg it doesn’t matter if there’s a team in front of you, all that matters (except for possibly some relatively unimportant first place prizes) is that there is a team behind you. But also, that requires a detailed knowledge of where all the teams are that you don’t necessarily have. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/26 "2013-04-29T13:17:01Z")
Exactly. At this point it still doesn’t matter whether you come in first. The only thing that matters is that you are assured that someone else will come in last. If that means that the weakest team not just loses but actually loses _badly_, so be it. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/27 "2013-04-29T13:56:57Z")
I don’t mind the Double U-turns, but I don’t like them at the end of the leg. The Roadblock should occur after the Double U-Turn. And how did the blondes and the Hockey Players find the quicker flight. I understand that Max/Katie found when they went to the business center and did their own research. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/28 "2013-04-29T14:03:19Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > And how did the blondes and the Hockey Players find the quicker flight. I understand that Max/Katie found when they went to the business center and did their own research. Because Joey & Meghan and Mona & Beth got the last tickets on the flight that arrived at 1:00 (when everyone thought that was the earliest one (which is why J&M and M&B were so overconfident until they got to the cars)) and when the ticket clerk did a wider search (I assume of all airlines or something), they found out about the 10:30 flight. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/29 "2013-04-29T14:24:30Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Haggis is boiled, therefore it is a pudding. (I had the honor of reciting “Address to a Haggis” at our Burns Dinner this January.) Ignorance, or at least a poor memory, fought. ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/30 "2013-04-29T16:34:00Z")
> [@zut](#): > > **Taxi Assessment:** > > _[Max & Katie](http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/cast/205011/)_ (up from “Rapido!”) - That’s two firsts in a row, and much as I hate to agree with Max, he’s right that they’re peaking at the right time. Some smart research got them onto the best flight, a good Roadblock performance put them in front, and some strategy-making on the Detour choice pulled them ahead of Anthony & Bates. Maybe I saw a different show than you did, but A&B passed M&K at the detour, getting to the U-Turn first. But the hockey bro’s got lost heading to old-towne Edinburgh which gave Max & Katie the win. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/31 "2013-04-29T21:13:45Z")
As much as I hated watching Team Gay Flair, props to them for their effort this leg. Totally agree with our taxi assessment that as grating as they are to watch, they made excellent teammates. (And poor Meghan gets some shrapnel here; I had little issue with her. Joey was just so cartoonishly over the top.) > [@jayjay](#): > > We were wondering if Bates & Anthony were going to get a penalty for carrying their barrels. I wasn’t sure if the clue had actually said to roll them or not. If it did, there SHOULD have been a penalty. Not that it would have made a difference, considering the time gap between the first three and the last two teams. Yeah that was a nice fake-out by the editors. This episode happened to show the actual clue: The instructions said “deliver” the barrels. No other words were used; the method of delivery was unspecified. For those wondering, the haggis clue used the actual word haggis. > [@kiz](#): > > This is what I can’t stand about double U-turns: For the last couple of seasons the teams being u-turned are almost always the ones who have been consistently lagging behind. What’s the use? The point of a U-turn is to _use it on your biggest competition to limit any advantage they may have over you!_ Alliances are fine, but c’mon, people, it’s a freaking RACE, not a hand-holding let’s-sing-kumbaya! The fundamental premise of the U-Turn is flawed in that you can’t use it on teams ahead of you. That means the only logical use of it (if you even want to) is to use it on whoever is already in last. But if you’re in first place, last place isn’t a threat at all so you shouldn’t even bother. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/32 "2013-04-29T21:22:12Z")
I got a chuckle from the country girl saying she’d been blowing all day. The question lingering from last week’s thread is definitively answered this week: You can only use one U-Turn per season. Bates & Anthony repeatedly referenced how Joey and Meghan weren’t allowed to use this U-Turn, presumably because they already U-Turned someone on a previous leg. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/33 "2013-04-29T21:55:50Z")
I strongly suspect that every team, on every leg, makes a wrong turn at some point and looks confused and argues over street signs and maps; and that footage is always filmed, but never used… except when it happens to team N-1, to give us the impression that team N still has a shot at reaching the mat first when in reality they’re 30 minutes behind. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/34 "2013-04-29T23:14:34Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > The fundamental premise of the U-Turn is flawed in that you can’t use it on teams ahead of you. That means the only logical use of it (if you even want to) is to use it on whoever is already in last. But if you’re in first place, last place isn’t a threat at all so you shouldn’t even bother. Which is exactly my point – why would you use it on a team that isn’t a threat? That doesn’t make any sense to me. The team that isn’t a threat is probably going to be eliminated sooner rather than later…??? ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/35 "2013-04-29T23:56:36Z")
I don’t know why they keep casting physically weak girls on the show. At some point in the race, you’re going to get stuck having to do a challenge that requires some strength. The moms are not physical specimens, but they made pretty short work of the barrel task. The YouTube girl was incapable of doing the task without help. It’s happened before with the poker players, and I’m sure with other people as well. It’s not fair, but a race with all nerfed tasks would be boring. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/36 "2013-04-29T23:58:58Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > Which is exactly my point – why would you use it on a team that isn’t a threat? That doesn’t make any sense to me. The team that isn’t a threat is probably going to be eliminated sooner rather than later…??? Well, your point was that it should be used on your biggest competition, which I disagree with. There’s no reason to use it on the biggest competition; you won’t eliminate them because the no-threat team will still be eliminated anyway and then next leg you all get bunched together. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/37 "2013-04-30T01:02:42Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I don’t know why they keep casting physically weak girls on the show. At some point in the race, you’re going to get stuck having to do a challenge that requires some strength. The moms are not physical specimens, but they made pretty short work of the barrel task. The YouTube girl was incapable of doing the task without help. > > It’s happened before with the poker players, and I’m sure with other people as well. It’s not fair, but a race with all nerfed tasks would be boring. You could as well as why they cast stupid people. The race has both kinds of challenges and they’re supposed to equal each other out. StG ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/38 "2013-04-30T02:59:13Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > I don’t know why they keep casting physically weak girls on the show. At some point in the race, you’re going to get stuck having to do a challenge that requires some strength. The moms are not physical specimens, but they made pretty short work of the barrel task. The YouTube girl was incapable of doing the task without help. The moms may not be Olympic-caliber physical specimens, but they do compete in roller derby. I’m pretty sure they’re in good physical shape. I think that’s why they had an easier time doing the barrels than Joey & Megan…they have better leg muscles. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/39 "2013-04-30T13:45:45Z")
If anyone is interested, Phil Keoghan is being interviewed on this week’s _Travel with Rick Steves_ podcast. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, though. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964/40 "2013-04-30T14:27:16Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Bates & Anthony repeatedly referenced how Joey and Meghan weren’t allowed to use this U-Turn, presumably because they already U-Turned someone on a previous leg. They did? I don’t remember that at all. But I did like Meghan’s “Look at our U-Turn picture!” and the unspoken “Pretending to cry in the picture was really jerky of us and we probably deserved this.” that went with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tar-4-28-working-our-barrels-off/656964.md?page=3)