# The Amazing Race, 10/21/12 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 22, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524 "2012-10-22T14:45:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/21 "2012-10-22T18:13:16Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > The race has been to developing countries before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so AGGRESSIVELY Third World - unending trash in the streets, raw sewage, dead rats, and an Ugly American screaming, “You just cost me a million dollars!” at someone who would never see that amount of money in his lifetime. They even went to Bangladesh before, I think two or three races ago. Not that Dhaka’s a particularly beautiful city, but they seem to want to just have it there as an example of a crowded, dirty, hot city. The one good part was the crowd that gathered around the ratcatchers. I have a faint hope that they’ll go somewhere else in the country, or even show a better part of Dhaka. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/22 "2012-10-22T18:17:29Z")
Everyone said, and I agree, that the preceding legs were too easy. This one looked like a stone-faced bitch. When I think of pleasant things to do in a hot, tropical city, blacksmithing is not the first thing that comes to mind. We all knew that Rob & Kelley (the monster truckers) were going to do the steel spike Detour and not the mattress one, right? I’m not suprised that Gary & Will are gone, but I’m not quite sure what they did wrong, either. Everybody was on the same flight at the beginning of the leg, but then they were last getting the bus repair and never recovered. Do they just suck at finding taxis or something? ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/23 "2012-10-22T18:20:38Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Yeah, I like her, too. I was really impressed with the mattress stuffing thing. No one else thought to do it that way. It was brilliant. I’m still trying to figure how she did it (well I figured it out) but more importantly, how she knew to do it that way? Maybe in her sewing school they needed to mate and flip sheets of fabric together? The only “real life” equivalent I can think of is stuffing a comforter into its cover but that way would save you any time. I’m just curious as hell about it! So after 4? episodes of no real challenges, we suddenly get 3 respectable challenges and some self-directed navigation in a single episode? Well, I say, “It’s about time!” ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/24 "2012-10-22T18:22:20Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > The race has been to developing countries before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so AGGRESSIVELY Third World - unending trash in the streets, raw sewage, dead rats, and an Ugly American screaming, “You just cost me a million dollars!” at someone who would never see that amount of money in his lifetime. Yeah, but did you notice the young boat pilot’s (or was he a cab driver?) reaction to the Monster Trucker’s violent verbal tirade? It was incredibly subtle, but he looked directly at the (huge) guy freaking out at him, straight in the eye, with just a trace of a smile on his lips, and then kind of jutted out his chin at him, almost imperceptibly. Although the defiant gaze and the gesture took only a second, it was the very finest non-verbal “Meh, Fuck You, Asshole…” I have _ever_ seen, anywhere… ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/25 "2012-10-22T18:35:21Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > If I ever go on TAR, the Number One ground rule between me and my partner would be “When I’m doing the Roadblock, if you stand there and scream at me, even if it’s supposed to be encouragement, I will kill you. And if it’s a Roadblock where I need to concentrate, the death will be especially painful.” Seriously. As much as I hated Gary? Will? Tall guy, it is a perfectly valid thing to tell your partner to STFU during the Roadblock. I guess it feels weird to sit idly by while someone else does all the work, but “Come on, baby!” doesn’t really count as doing anything positive. > [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > …and an Ugly American screaming, “You just cost me a million dollars!” at someone who would never see that amount of money in his lifetime. And I know it’s such a ridiculous nitpick, but no, he didn’t cost you a million dollars. He didn’t even cost you the opportunity to keep fighting your fellow sheltered Americans for the chance at a million dollars. And even if they had gotten eliminated, the burden is on the team to make sure they’re getting a ride to the boat launch and not the Pitstop. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/26 "2012-10-22T18:46:23Z")
> [@Sally\_Mander](#): > > If I ever go on TAR, the Number One ground rule between me and my partner would be “When I’m doing the Roadblock, if you stand there and scream at me, even if it’s supposed to be encouragement, I will kill you. And if it’s a Roadblock where I need to concentrate, the death will be especially painful.” Mrs Cad and I have the same rule but in a simpler form. STFU!!! ---
**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:** [October 22, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/27 "2012-10-22T19:09:21Z")
A few gentle words of encouragement are fine, but when the one sitting it out is constantly shrieking at the other, it drives me batty. That never-ending stream of “C’mon baby, you can do it, baby, c’mon, sweetie, the cheerleaders just got here, hurry up, c’mon baby, the farmers just left, baby, c’mon, baby, hurry up, you can do it, I believe in you, baby…” I wonder what sort of penalty you’d get at the mat for killing your partner mid-roadblock. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/28 "2012-10-22T19:39:17Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m not suprised that Gary & Will are gone, but I’m not quite sure what they did wrong, either. Everybody was on the same flight at the beginning of the leg, but then they were last getting the bus repair and never recovered. Do they just suck at finding taxis or something? They were just bad bad racers. Slower at everything than everyone. The only reason they made it this far was because of taxi mishaps deciding the last few legs. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/29 "2012-10-22T19:49:52Z")
For the first time this season I thought the race finally picked up. More interesting tasks and such. I don’t think I would have wanted to stuff a mattress though. Hopefully the rest of the season can stay this way. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/30 "2012-10-22T20:18:45Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Yeah, but did you notice the young boat pilot’s (or was he a cab driver?) reaction to the Monster Trucker’s violent verbal tirade? > > It was incredibly subtle, but he looked directly at the (huge) guy freaking out at him, straight in the eye, with just a trace of a smile on his lips, and then kind of jutted out his chin at him, almost imperceptibly. Although the defiant gaze and the gesture took only a second, it was the very finest non-verbal “Meh, Fuck You, Asshole…” I have _ever_ seen, anywhere… It was the South Asian head bobble that made it for me. I’ve never quite figured out what the gesture is supposed to mean, but it seemed to be a perfectly suitable response to the monster trucker’s freakout. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/31 "2012-10-22T20:23:09Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Do they just suck at finding taxis or something? Just getting around in general. When the monster truckers had the water taxi drop them off at the Pit Stop instead of the landing, they lost one place. Another team had their taxi take them to the landing instead of the ferry launch and had to motor boat back across to the launch, then cross again to the landing. Gary and Will made the same mistake, but we see them heading off into the sunset - in a row boat. They just seem not too street smart, throw in a little bad luck and you’re leaving the race. And I thought for sure NEL as well. But no. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/32 "2012-10-22T20:23:16Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > Seriously. As much as I hated Gary? Will? Tall guy, it is a perfectly valid thing to tell your partner to STFU during the Roadblock. I guess it feels weird to sit idly by while someone else does all the work, but “Come on, baby!” doesn’t really count as doing anything positive. For as long as I have been watching the race, this has been the standard storyline: non-Roadblock partner screams encouragement (or something) at Roadblock partner; Roadblock partner gets infuriated, leading to screaming fight. What I love about the twins is that their storyline has a twist. The first time I saw one twin screaming at the other, I thought it was going to devolve into the standard STFU fight. Instead, the other twin interviewed how much she appreciated the encouragement. I like that they have found a unique approach that works for them. They seem to be doing very well at the tasks, so the fact that the screaming provides drama for the other teams is just a bonus. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/33 "2012-10-22T20:33:02Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > They were just bad bad racers. Slower at everything than everyone. The only reason they made it this far was because of taxi mishaps deciding the last few legs. Yeah, but what exactly made them slow? Were they last off the plane, did they not run through the airport, did they stop to buy a map, did they pick a bad spot to try to hail a cab? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/34 "2012-10-22T20:43:12Z")
What struck me, **Robot Arm** , was that they were pretty ineffective at performing the tasks. Shorty couldn’t make the balloon animals, hell, he couldn’t even tie the balloons. Tall guy couldn’t get the bondo mixture consistency quite right. They seemed far too slow carting the ice blocks. Plus they had the tendency to say that they weren’t giving up, although their demeanour and slump-shouldered in-no-hurry gait seemed to indicate otherwise. I think these things made them really bad racers. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/35 "2012-10-22T21:37:37Z")
It also bugged me a couple of times how David and Goliath said that they “represented the fans.” Uh, no thanks guys, don’t speak for me. Frankly I think the team I have the most in common with is James and Abba, even though I’ve never been in a rock band. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/36 "2012-10-22T21:48:13Z")
One’s a rocker, one’s a lawyer, “Yeah, we’ve seen plenty of rats”. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/37 "2012-10-22T21:54:05Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > One’s a rocker, one’s a lawyer, “Yeah, we’ve seen plenty of rats”. Takes one to know one. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/38 "2012-10-22T22:14:38Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > It also bugged me a couple of times how David and Goliath said that they “represented the fans.” Uh, no thanks guys, don’t speak for me. I think that Gary & Will represent all the fans who sit on the couch criticizing the participants and thinking “I know I could win this thing if I just had the chance,” but who lack the skills necessary to really compete in the race. Now that certainly isn’t _every_ fan, but it’s quite a few of them, myself included. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/39 "2012-10-23T00:11:48Z")
I’d lose every footrace, be too scared to bungee jump off a suspension bridge, or not have the “guts” to eat a Ugandan “delicacy”… but I know better than to even try out for the show! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524/40 "2012-10-23T00:19:22Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I loved that a local poured some Sprite on his still-shod foot in order to clean it. Just like you pour Sprite on the **outside** of your engine if you think it’s overheating. Is there anything in Bangladesh that Sprite can’t do? I was very bemused when the blonde racer assumed the taxi driver was spilling Sprite over his engine. Now I’m even more bemused to see viewers at home agreed with her? No offense, **muldoonthief** - but you really thought that was what was going on, rather than the Bangladeshis were reusing soda bottles to carry water? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-10-21-12/638524.md?page=3)