# The 2-man luge---what were they thinking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 23, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462 "2005-11-23T19:43:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/1 "2005-11-23T19:43:53Z")
I’m flipping channels , and I suddenly see two guys trying not to have sex with each other . Oh, sorry, that’s a SPORT! HUH? Who invented this, and what was he smokin’? Sure, I was a kid once, and loved sledding down snowbanks. But I did it _facing forwards_. It just seems more logical that way, you know. And I might even have done it with a friend, too. But we were **kids** , ya know what I mean. Because somewhere in my life, I was subtly and gradually introduced to the concept that _grown men don’t lie down on top of each other in public_. If you want to make a suicidal run down a bobsled chute , but without a bobsled, okay, I’ll let you call it a sport. But why do it with two guys on top of each other? Why not three? Or a whole stack-- a dozen guys, all roped together? ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/2 "2005-11-23T19:55:54Z")
Just because you think it’s homoerotic doesn’t mean it is. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/3 "2005-11-23T19:57:37Z")
Would it be better if it was a man & a woman, like ice dancing, only with helmets? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/4 "2005-11-23T20:21:51Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Because somewhere in my life, I was subtly and gradually introduced to the concept that _grown men don’t lie down on top of each other in public_. Clearly, you’ve been hanging out in entirely the wrong places. 😉 I’m more terrified by the concept of sledding on a sheet of thin ice and snow _lying down_–gyaaaaaaaah. _runs away and hides with her nice, safe toboggan_ ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/5 "2005-11-23T20:28:25Z")
\*\*The 2-man luge—what were they thinking? \*\* I imagine they were thinking, “Crap, if we’d have just made the thing a couple inches longer, it could have been a \*three-\*man luge.” ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/6 "2005-11-23T20:28:56Z")
Honest question. What does the second person even do? Are they there just for weight or a little extra umph at the beginning? They could sixty-nine down the track for all I care - as long as there is a reason for the second person to be there… ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/7 "2005-11-23T20:36:13Z")
This will explain all the particulars of luge: [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/amateur/torino/sport\_primers/luge.html](http://www.cbc.ca/sports/amateur/torino/sport_primers/luge.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/8 "2005-11-23T22:27:52Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Would it be better if it was a man & a woman, like ice dancing, only with helmets? During the 2002 Olympics, a bunch of my classmates were out drinking and started making the predictable jokes about two-man luge. One guy from my lab, who was particularly drunk, appeared to be under the impression that it was actually a coed event, and started going on about what a great idea it was. This conversation ended with him loudly announcing “It doesn’t matter if you’re on the top or on the bottom. It’s a win-win situation!” By the time I graduated some 18 months later, he hadn’t yet lived that one down, and the phrase “win-win situation” still has the power to crack me up. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/9 "2005-11-23T23:32:10Z")
Somehow I don’t think you’re going to pop a chubby screaming down a twisting icy tube at 60 MPH. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/10 "2005-11-23T23:41:53Z")
They were hoping to increase the body count. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/11 "2005-11-23T23:47:14Z")
Seriously, the reason there is no two _women_ luge is that the woman on top would just slide off without a lynchpin to hold her in place. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/12 "2005-11-23T23:48:35Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Somehow I don’t think you’re going to pop a chubby screaming down a twisting icy tube at 60 MPH. Apparently you’ve never heard of “the eskimo pie.” ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/13 "2005-11-24T00:10:27Z")
Doubles luge gives second row rugby forwards and North American football quarterbacks something to look forward to in the off season. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/14 "2005-11-24T01:23:53Z")
Next to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, doubles luge looks about as homoerotic as a bowl of cold oatmeal. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/15 "2005-11-24T18:53:39Z")
Dude, while I appreciate a good immature giggle as much as the next guy, I think the folks doing the 2-man luge will be too busy trying not to die a horrible death to try anything funny. ---
**Author:** ![Egad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Egad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/16 "2005-11-24T19:38:23Z")
> [@drm](#): > > Are they there just for weight or a little extra umph That’s what the OP suspects! ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/17 "2005-11-24T21:18:35Z")
> [@csharpmajor](#): > > Dude, while I appreciate a good immature giggle as much as the next guy, I think the folks doing the 2-man luge will be too busy trying not to die a horrible death to try anything funny. okay, I appologize for the immature humor. I was trying to be funny, and sexual innuendo is good for cheap laughs. And you gotta admit that is a silly sport. But what I really want to know is - why the hell did anybody invent the 2 man luge? Who was the first guy who said “hey, this is so much fun, I bet it would be better with somebody else underneath me?” And if your gonna do it with 2, why not with 3 or 4 people? For that matter, why not just do it sitting upright, and go down on your butt (like a water slide at a swimming pool). Reminds me of a joke during the winter olympics (by Jay Leno): "Look at that 4-man bobsled competition. The front guy steers, the guy in the back operates the brakes.So tell me-- what are those 2 guys in the middle doing? But imagine them on the airplane flying to the Olympic site–a 12 hour flight. They must be saying “Wow, this is great— Look at all this legroom!!!” ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/18 "2005-11-25T04:46:02Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > okay, I appologize for the immature humor. I was trying to be funny, and sexual innuendo is good for cheap laughs. And you gotta admit that is a silly sport. > > But what I really want to know is - why the hell did anybody invent the 2 man luge? > Who was the first guy who said “hey, this is so much fun, I bet it would be better with somebody else underneath me?” And if your gonna do it with 2, why not with 3 or 4 people? For that matter, why not just do it sitting upright, and go down on your butt (like a water slide at a swimming pool). > Reminds me of a joke during the winter olympics (by Jay Leno): > "Look at that 4-man bobsled competition. The front guy steers, the guy in the back operates the brakes.So tell me-- what are those 2 guys in the middle doing? But imagine them on the airplane flying to the Olympic site–a 12 hour flight. They must be saying “Wow, this is great— Look at all this legroom!!!” Hee hee hee. I suspect they’re there for the same reason most things in winter sports are there - for no apparent reason whatsoever. I mean, look at the _other_ sports at the Winter Olympics - curling. Biathlon. Skeleton. What is the reasoning behind these sports? NOBODY KNOWS. Curling and biathlon are spectacularly pointless (which makes them strangely fascinating to watch) and skeleton is just plain suicidal. Think luge, but head-first. Then again if you’re going 130km/h it probably doesn’t matter which end points forward when you crash. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/19 "2005-11-25T04:52:11Z")
Oh, and there does not appear to be a 2-man skeleton, which would look even more, uh, questionable than the 2-man luge. Heh heh. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462/20 "2005-11-25T05:02:36Z")
Ok, can someone post a picture of this? I am having problems visualizing what could be SO horrible about two men in a luge. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2-man-luge-what-were-they-thinking/332462.md?page=2)