# The Amazing Race, 11/29 \[spoilers, not all of them boxed\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401 "2009-11-30T00:04:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/61 "2009-11-30T20:00:19Z")
> [@Algernon](#): > > I was just in Prague this past June and it is spectacular. And that’s just the women. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/62 "2009-11-30T20:01:29Z")
I’m not surprised with the Globetrotters. They suck at mental puzzle stuff, and that’s just the way it is. They couldn’t do the watch challenge and if I remember correctly, during the gold weighing challenge, _with_ a calculator, they still took a slow, brute force method of just adding an ounce at a time until they finally got it. The quicker teams seemed to figure out division would work faster. Isn’t the final challenge usually heavily mental, like remembering lots of details about the whole race? Better those guys just left now. It drove me crazy watching Meghan struggling to remember the letters in the Kafka challenge. The phones, the desks and it appeared the whole room was purposely covered in dust just so you could jot down the letters with your finger, then erase them before you left. It’ll be kind of a travesty if those two don’t win, but luck does play a part in this race. The brothers: Still cute, even when they’re evil. Dan still needs a sock shoved in his mouth. It never occurred to me that they’d get docked for a broken arm on the golem. In the past other teams have broken plaster of paris type animals and such but as long as you get all the parts to their destination, it counts. That challenge looked difficult enough as it was, I doubted the rabbis would actually decline one of the golems, no matter how bad it was. It’s like when the task is to score points against a professional sports team and obviously the professionals let them win after a certain amount of time. Not much to say about Brian & Erica. Brian is cute, Erica is shrill and grating. They’re one of those teams that make me wish they’d switch the rules and allow racing teams to swap partners so two nice racers could dump their ball and chains and win together. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/63 "2009-11-30T20:10:21Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I would NEVER have taken the penalty. There were only 25 possible combinations of those letters. 1. However, if you’re smart enough to realize that the “A” _has_ to go in the middle and that FR almost certainly has to go together, the number drops a lot. I join in the “older brother hatred”. That said, I’m not sad to see the Globetrotters go–I’d rather the brothers or Mr/Mrs America went–the brothers hate everything (the older one at least) and Mr/Mrs America are simply incompetent (and she’s shrill as hell). I’m rooting for Ken & Barbie. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/64 "2009-11-30T20:14:31Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Dan is a dick. > > Something weird was going on time-wise. Brian and Ericka had one more trip to make after delivering their 19th glass of beer, and it was still dark out. Commercial. Then we see the ‘Trotters’ penalty time end and it’s light, and then we see B & E complete their task. So it was dark when they had one more trip to make, and light when they finished it? Something’s fishy. When (on their first trip) Brian dropped one or two and Ericka dropped all of hers, there was a long, lingering shot of the shattered glass left on the sidewalk accompanied by the Chimes of Doom. I wonder if there was something about “If you make a mess, clean it up so drunken Chech soccer hooligans don’t slice up their feet”? If so, that would explain the time lost. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/65 "2009-11-30T20:32:57Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Not much to say about Brian & Erica. Brian is cute, Erica is shrill and grating. They’re one of those teams that make me wish they’d switch the rules and allow racing teams to swap partners so two nice racers could dump their ball and chains and win together. I have thought the same thing—In a perfect world, Brian would dump his shrew of a wife (“Beauty Queen” my ass, she is one of the least physically attractive women on the entire Race) and hook up with Meghan, who has shown herself to be a much more classy and fairminded racer than Shane, who is, in my opinion, both arrogant and underhanded… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/66 "2009-11-30T20:38:11Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > 1. > > However, if you’re smart enough to realize that the “A” _has_ to go in the middle and that FR almost certainly has to go together, the number drops a lot.. OK permutations & combinations one more time: With 5 letters, there are 5! possible combinations: 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120. Given an “F” in the first spot, that reduces it to 4!, or 24. If you assume you’re looking for a word, then yes some combinations make more sense than others. But if you didn’t immediately see “Franz” you could just as well assume that it’s an acronym or something otherwise totally arbitrary. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/67 "2009-11-30T20:43:34Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I have thought the same thing—In a perfect world, Brian would dump his shrew of a wife (“Beauty Queen” my ass, she is one of the least physically attractive women on the entire Race) and hook up with Meghan, who has shown herself to be a much more classy and fairminded racer than Shane, who is, in my opinion, both arrogant and underhanded… I think she’s actually quite attractive, physically…although the GT’s impression of her calling “Brian! Brian!” is an all-time fave TAR moment. When Meghan & Cheyne were wheeling the golem and Cheyne was throwing his little hissy fit, I wanted to point out to him that it might time to man up, grow a pair, etc…his girlfriend is considerably more macho than he is. And he has ridiculous hair. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/68 "2009-11-30T21:20:44Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I wonder what she got for ‘N’. It took a while, but I came up with ‘newt’. Surprisingly, there just aren’t that many animals that start with ‘N’. Nematode and nautilus, perhaps. Unless you cheat with something like “New Hampshire Spotted Owl”. Can anyone think of a more common animal that begins with ‘N’? No adjectives like “Nevada” or “Northern”, please. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/69 "2009-11-30T21:23:21Z")
Cross my heart, the first thing I thought of was narwhal. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/70 "2009-11-30T21:31:33Z")
newt narwhal naked mole rat nine-toed sloth ---
**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:** [November 30, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/71 "2009-11-30T21:32:52Z")
nauga nutria ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/72 "2009-11-30T21:39:26Z")
My wife immediately thought of “nutria.” I’m more of a “newt” guy, myself. ETA: Although I do like “nauga,” cute li’l fellers. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/73 "2009-11-30T21:40:14Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > nauga Hunted for their skins, are they? ---
**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:** [November 30, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/74 "2009-11-30T21:50:03Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Hunted for their skins, are they? Farmed. For their hides, actually… ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/75 "2009-11-30T21:50:37Z")
Veritable Jekyll and Hydes of the animal kingdom. Swear to god, I’m a trained puzzle professional, and I couldn’t come up with anything. I’d’ve defaulted to “nice.” ---
**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:** [November 30, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/76 "2009-11-30T22:01:00Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Farmed. For their hides, actually… Yeah, and the Canadian woods are just teeming with mo. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/77 "2009-11-30T22:33:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > During the counting bells Roadblock a few legs ago, Ericka came down to whine to Brian before going back into the tower to try again, and there was no penalty. I think having to listen to Erika whine is penalty enough, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/78 "2009-11-30T22:59:11Z")
I thought the same thing at the pit stop. I think there was a penalty we didn’t see. As for animals-I went with gnu because it was just silly enough that I would remember that it was n and not g. (Although I would still probably prefer to use a sentence like “rabbits, zebras, and ferrets never argue”). Also, not getting the Cheyne hate. I love the fact that they balance each other so well. When she gets stressed she gets controlling and he chills her out; when he gets stressed he gets whiny and complaining and she helps him calm down and proceed logically. They are some of the best all-around racers we’ve ever seen. They seem to be good at both the physical and the mental tasks. His hair doesn’t bother me. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/79 "2009-11-30T23:07:07Z")
The Globetrotters made a stupid decision out of frustration, and should have been able to solve the puzzle systematically. That said, I think this is an example of how standardized tests can be culturally biased. First of all, I don’t think any of the racers entered the telephone room and though to themselves “How Kafkaesque!” I think they looked at the letters they had and thought “Hey, I’m in Eastern Europe, Franz is a good guess!” I’m a white guy and I’ve travelled internationally, plus I went to school in Wisconsin - I’ve met dozens of Franzes in my time. The Globetrotters grew up in the poor part of New Orleans, probably never left the region, and attended historically black colleges. Neither of them may have ever encountered a Franz in their entire lives. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/80 "2009-12-01T00:34:01Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever met a Franz, and for a minute I forgot if it was Franz or Frank Kafka, but still, even if you had never heard the name before you’d think it would be obvious to start guessing things like FRANZ, FARNZ, NARFZ, etc. instead of NFZRA, FZRAN or FNZAR. It’s just common sense. The thinking should have been, “It’s highly unlikely the producers would have the answer be a random combination of letters that could only be gotten by guessing, let me try by starting with words I can say or reasonably pronounce.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401.md?page=5)