# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/101 "2009-12-01T15:20:49Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > [Regarding the beer run task] It was three trips by my count. They tried fifteen glasses on the first trip, and finished with seven. Twelve on the second trip, until one was liberated by a passerby. Twelve on the last trip, and if they had any brains they’d have taken a spare. Ah, thanks. Hard to tell then how long it might have taken, but given the distance it still could have taken between two and three hours. > [@Raygun99](#): > > [Regarding the beauty of Prague] And that’s just the women. No kidding! And I was delighted that the producers highlighted this fact – the detour, the mat greeter, etc. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I wonder what she got for ‘N’. It took a while, but I came up with ‘newt’. I had nothin’, but my wife who was barely paying attention quietly looked up and said “newt”. > [@panamajack](#): > > Wasn’t there a statue of him in the building that they showed? [This is the statue](http://german.about.com/library/gallery/blfoto_kafka02.htm) they showed. The statue is in the Jewish Quarter and since we don’t really know where the warehouse with the telephones were (do we?), there is nothing indicating that the racers would’ve seen this statue. I think it was just storytelling by the editors to put the task in cultural perspective. Along those lines, the bureaucrats were terrifically kafkaesque (which I had to explain to my 25 year old college grad daughter – sheesh). ---
**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, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/102 "2009-12-01T15:32:36Z")
> [@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? Earlier this season was a task at an amusement park where someone had to go on a ride and spot an arrow on the ground. There was a height limit (6’4", I think), probably because the ride restraints wouldn’t fit anyone taller. Charla might have been too short, too. Was that an official Roadblock, or just a random interstitial task? That might have contributed to the Globetrotters eventual defeat. If Big Easy had gone on the ride, Flight Time would have been available for the Kafka Roadblock. ---
**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, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/103 "2009-12-01T15:37:32Z")
> [@zut](#): > > Terrence of Terrence and Sarah, [Season 13, Episode 8](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/recaps/1308/recaps.php?season=13). Thanks. I missed seasons 13 and 14. ---
**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, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/104 "2009-12-01T15:43:57Z")
> [@Algernon](#): > > No kidding! And I was delighted that the producers highlighted this fact – the detour, the mat greeter, etc. Heck, wasn’t one of the taxi drivers a major babe? > [@](#): > > [This is the statue](http://german.about.com/library/gallery/blfoto_kafka02.htm) they showed. The statue is in the Jewish Quarter and since we don’t really know where the warehouse with the telephones were (do we?),… The Ekotechnické Museum, [here](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Ekotechnicke+museum+Prague&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hl=en&hq=Ekotechnicke+museum&hnear=Prague,+Czech+Republic&ll=50.097679,14.43449&spn=0.076201,0.17046&z=13). Was this just set up for the show, I wonder. Who do you call to make something like that happen? > [@](#): > > “Hello, I need a big room with a supervisor’s office, clipboards, two guys with no sense of humor, 150 black telephones, and a rubber stamp that says ‘KAFKA’.” > > “Would Tuesday work for you?” > > “Oh, the telephones have to be ringing.” > > “Tuesday afternoon.” ---
**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, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/105 "2009-12-01T15:47:57Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Heck, wasn’t one of the taxi drivers a major babe? Which brings up something I wondered when she showed up. When was the last time we saw a female cabbie on the Race? ---
**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, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/106 "2009-12-01T15:57:55Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > 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. During Phil’s description of the hangliding Roadblock, he said something like “The Racer must be able to follow the verbal directions of the hangliding instructor” i.e. “The deaf guy can’t do this task.” ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/107 "2009-12-01T17:20:18Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Earlier this season was a task at an amusement park where someone had to go on a ride and spot an arrow on the ground. There was a height limit (6’4", I think), probably because the ride restraints wouldn’t fit anyone taller. Charla might have been too short, too. > > Was that an official Roadblock, or just a random interstitial task? That might have contributed to the Globetrotters eventual defeat. If Big Easy had gone on the ride, Flight Time would have been available for the Kafka Roadblock. Random task. That was the episode where they went to Sweden and the roadblock was the Haybales (which Big Easy did do). Big Easy Roadblocks: 1. Sushi 2. find Water in Desert 3. Crack code 4. Hay Bales 5. Find Mandolin 6. Kafkaesque Flight Time Roadblocks 1. Duck Herding 2. VCR Chop Shop (Monday Morning QBing, Big Easy should have done this one) 3. Monkey maneuvers 4. Count Bells in Tower 5. Secret Code (Candlabra) ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/108 "2009-12-01T17:58:26Z")
I have a question not related to this episode in particular. In early seasons, there was much made about the money players were given for each leg of the race, and if you ran out of money, you needed to find some other way to get it. This led to scenes of teams begging for money – which always made me uncomfortable. I know that they still spell out how much money is given for each leg, but in recent seasons we haven’t seen it be an issue for anyone (except that time those frat brothers used it to buy shoes). Have they (the producers) been making sure each team has plenty of cash? ---
**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, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/109 "2009-12-01T18:12:14Z")
Begging for money was tackier than entertaining, so they nixed it. ---
**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, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/110 "2009-12-01T18:17:52Z")
> [@Meltdown](#): > > I have a question not related to this episode in particular. In early seasons, there was much made about the money players were given for each leg of the race, and if you ran out of money, you needed to find some other way to get it. This led to scenes of teams begging for money – which always made me uncomfortable. > > I know that they still spell out how much money is given for each leg, but in recent seasons we haven’t seen it be an issue for anyone (except that time those frat brothers used it to buy shoes). Have they (the producers) been making sure each team has plenty of cash? Racers in early seasons rarely needed to beg because they ran out of the cash assigned for the leg, except sometimes at the very end of the race (final leg or two). However, for several seasons, the team that was last to arrive in a non-elimination leg were stripped of all of their possessions, and had to start the next leg with no cash at all. They were forced to beg, which lead to some of the uncomfortable begging scenes. Enough people objected that that policy was changed, and the Speed Bump was instituted for non-eliminated racers. I don’t know if they’ve specifically banned begging; otherwise we might see it in cases where a team badly miscalculated (had to pay a taxi far more than they thought, for example), but the required begging that occurred after non-elimation legs no longer exists. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/111 "2009-12-01T18:19:35Z")
> [@zut](#): > > 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. Wow, I’ve watched every episode of every race since season three and I have absolutely no recollection of that team, let alone that they won. I do remember some of the other teams that season, though. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/112 "2009-12-01T18:35:30Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Wow, I’ve watched every episode of every race since season three and I have absolutely no recollection of that team, let alone that they won. I do remember some of the other teams that season, though. Weird. Same her, I remember the Muslim who were eliminated early, and the Kentucky couple and the girl with a artificial leg. And the Blondes, and the Lyn and Karlyn. I don’t remember the winners, but I do remember the blondes were close to winning. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/113 "2009-12-01T18:40:07Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Heck, wasn’t one of the taxi drivers a major babe? > > The Ekotechnické Museum… :smack: How could I have forgotten the gorgeous taxi driver! Thanks for the Museum location. It is nowhere near the Kafka statue I posted the link to earlier, so the racers would not have seen it to help them with the unscrambling task. ---
**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, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/114 "2009-12-01T18:44:06Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Wow, I’ve watched every episode of every race since season three and I have absolutely no recollection of that team, let alone that they won. I do remember some of the other teams that season, though. Weird. I do remember the addicts turned models. It’s horribly unfeeling to say, but I wondered if their addiction was exaggerated somehow, like they’re both members of the same nail-biters anonymous group or something. I know, I know, I’m terrible. Zero recollection they won. Huh. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401/115 "2009-12-01T19:27:52Z")
Oh, I was going to say, when they introduced that Roadblock the name of it on the TV screen was “Kafka-esque.” I don’t know if the contestant’s clues include the Roadblock name, but if they do that should have been a major clue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-29-spoilers-not-all-of-them-boxed/519401.md?page=5)