# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/81 "2009-12-01T00:51:35Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > 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.” True true, although Czech can be really stingy with vowels, and after traveling around the countryside getting there I can’t completely blame someone for thinking Nfrza just might be a word. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/82 "2009-12-01T00:55:38Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > 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. I thought of nutria instantly. I’m fucking weird. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/83 "2009-12-01T01:38:47Z")
I would have said “nightowl” - not exactly an animal but close enough to remember ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/84 "2009-12-01T02:06:32Z")
Maybe he couldn’t have figured it out. In [this interview](http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/412755_tvgif30.html) Big Easy says that he actually saw Franz early on but thought he’d already taken it up and had it rejected. So he may never have tried it. And they give a good reason why he was doing this road block when they knew he wasn’t good at the puzzles. Because they were even on doing them and knew that the last leg would have the memory puzzle so they were saving that for Flight Time. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/85 "2009-12-01T02:09:40Z")
Apparently it was explained on a blog where the racers post that Brian and Ericka received a 30 minute penalty because Brian wrote down the letters on the roadblock as he heard them, which was a violation of the roadblock rules. It made no difference to the race since Big Easy and Flight Time were already sitting out their 4 hour penalty. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/86 "2009-12-01T02:16:03Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > I thought of nutria instantly. I’m fucking weird. I thought of nutria as well. I don’t think it’s that weird. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/87 "2009-12-01T05:50:02Z")
In one of the shots of Big Easy’s notes, there was something that really looked like ‘FARNZ’ but with the writing could have been misinterpreted as ‘FRANZ’. Or he mistakenly wrote that down. Wasn’t there a statue of him in the building that they showed? I would have thought he might look in or around the room for clues. I know they’re tired, but it’s hard to believe you wouldn’t get any sort of help. This leg seemed like the ‘exhaustion’ leg. Start at night, include a pointless task that stresses the body, and then do something physically demanding. I’m surprised the distance was so far to the bar. It really seems like the task was severely skewed (not that that’s unusual, especially against physical strength) but it also seemed like something that really didn’t work out in practice, and few people aside from the girl who got free beer were happy. I noticed they stopped actually bringing the beer downstairs (probably because the bar was closing). ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/88 "2009-12-01T05:58:33Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > Maybe he couldn’t have figured it out. In [this interview](http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/412755_tvgif30.html) Big Easy says that he actually saw Franz early on but thought he’d already taken it up and had it rejected. So he may never have tried it. What we saw in the episode was sad, but to have the right answer so close and still miss it is even a little sadder. Wait a minute. The Supervisor dude was giving them their forms back after he stamped them. He could have checked which ones he’d already used. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/89 "2009-12-01T12:14:38Z")
By the way–what was the name of the Frostorium? I want to look it up. Phil said it was -180…Celsius. I’m waaaay beyond skeptical. That’s -292 Fahrenheit. That’s only like 20 degrees away from the boiling point of nitrogen and only like 3 degrees away from the boiling point of oxygen. Maybe he meant -80c? ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/90 "2009-12-01T12:35:34Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > By the way–what was the name of the Frostorium? > > I want to look it up. Phil said it was -180…Celsius. I’m waaaay beyond skeptical. That’s -292 Fahrenheit. That’s only like 20 degrees away from the boiling point of nitrogen and only like 3 degrees away from the boiling point of oxygen. > > Maybe he meant -80c? **notfrommensa** is gonna be disappointed you glossed over [his post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11830850&postcount=29) ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/91 "2009-12-01T13:22:07Z")
:: hangs head deep in shame :: Chimes of Failure play I phail. (Seriously–how’d I manage to miss that entire section of the discussion??) ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/92 "2009-12-01T14:27:01Z")
I was surprised when Brian said he didn’t drink at all. I’d need at least a shot a day to cope with Ericka. And someone upthread asked what about if someone was a recovering alcoholic? I guess in that case you take whatever penalty would happen if you skipped the task. Although, alcoholism (in recovery) is covered under the Americans with disabilities Act, so I wonder if some accommodation would need to be made. Hmmm. I don’t have the ability to do a search right now, but I do seem to recall there being a (male) racer at some point saying he was in recovery from addiction or alcoholism. Sound familiar to anyone? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/93 "2009-12-01T14:42:30Z")
I’m sure during the selection process medical and dietary issues are brought up, and I don’t think they have to accommodate vegetarians, kosher diets or recovering alcoholics. You may have to consume pretty much anything, just like you may have to deal with heights and water, or not. Hell, they’ve had to get tattoos and shave their heads before. You can always take the penalty for not completing a task, for any reason. They know this going in. “Hi! My name is Lev and I"m afraid of heights, water, animals, stick shifts, maps, and foreigners.” “Great! You’re on!” ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/94 "2009-12-01T14:51:22Z")
True, and I know that, other than making sure that clothing/equipment was available in a smaller size, there were no accommodations for Charla’s short stature, right? I was just idly musing, but now I do want to go back through the seasons and see who was the recovering addict (unless I’m making that up). ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/95 "2009-12-01T15:06:32Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > I thought of nutria as well. I don’t think it’s that weird. I thought of nutria as well, specifically because of George’s nutria hat from “Seinfeld”. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > What we saw in the episode was sad, but to have the right answer so close and still miss it is even a little sadder. > > Wait a minute. The Supervisor dude was giving them their forms back after he stamped them. He could have checked which ones he’d already used. I think he was giving them a new blank form each time, not the rejected form. > [@levdrakon](#): > > I’m sure during the selection process medical and dietary issues are brought up, and I don’t think they have to accommodate vegetarians, kosher diets or recovering alcoholics. You may have to consume pretty much anything, just like you may have to deal with heights and water, or not. Hell, they’ve had to get tattoos and shave their heads before. You can always take the penalty for not completing a task, for any reason. They know this going in. Wasn’t there a fast forward a few seasons ago where you had to eat a sheep head, and one of the racers was vegetarian? IIRC, he tried, but couldn’t finish. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/96 "2009-12-01T15:10:19Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > I was just idly musing, but now I do want to go back through the seasons and see who was the recovering addict (unless I’m making that up). You’re likely thinking of [Tyler and James](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/bio/tyler_and_james_10/bio.php), winners of season 10, who met in rehab. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/97 "2009-12-01T15:14:35Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Wasn’t there a fast forward a few seasons ago where you had to eat a sheep head, and one of the racers was vegetarian? IIRC, he tried, but couldn’t finish. I don’t remember that, but wasn’t there a Jewish racer who kept kosher, and was confronted with a challenge to eat pork or shellfish? We need \*\*jayjay \*\*- he has an encyclopedic memory of many of the details. All the seasons run together in my memory. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/98 "2009-12-01T15:16:04Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Wasn’t there a fast forward a few seasons ago where you had to eat a sheep head, and one of the racers was vegetarian? IIRC, he tried, but couldn’t finish. Terrence of Terrence and Sarah, [Season 13, Episode 8](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/recaps/1308/recaps.php?season=13). ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/99 "2009-12-01T15:16:18Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Wasn’t there a fast forward a few seasons ago where you had to eat a sheep head, and one of the racers was vegetarian? IIRC, he tried, but couldn’t finish. That was actually this last season, the annoying whiney man-child-personal-trainer and the woman-who-could-do-so-much-better. ETA: I’m wrong…season before last. I’m conflating the Star and Brother season with the Tammy and Victor season (both sibling wins, so somewhat understandable). ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/100 "2009-12-01T15:16:56Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > True, and I know that, other than making sure that clothing/equipment was available in a smaller size, there were no accommodations for Charla’s short stature, right? I was just idly musing, but now I do want to go back through the seasons and see who was the recovering addict (unless I’m making that up). There was also the deaf guy. His mom was his interpreter and they may have had another interpreter on the crew, I don’t know, but he and his mom still had to be careful which tasks he did, and I think there were some tasks he didn’t have much choice but to say “no” to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401.md?page=6)