# The Amazing Race 11/30 - "Oh %#$@!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056 "2008-11-30T14:44:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/41 "2008-12-01T13:08:24Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Basically, someone doesn’t know something that’s essentially trivia and someone else feels the need to call them stupid for it. Yeah, trivia. :rolleyes: It’s basic knowledge. I’m not a scholar of Russia or the Soviet Union. I don’t make special studies of those areas. I may have last seen a photo of Stalin or Lenin five or ten years ago. They’re rather distinctive-looking people, really. I guess I’m probably just happy that nobody wondered where the statue of McCartney was… ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/42 "2008-12-01T13:18:00Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Basically, someone doesn’t know something that’s essentially trivia and someone else feels the need to call them stupid for it. And yet somehow without really studying it I’ve seen hundreds of representations of them. The giant banners with Lenin’s face and unique Russia-sized forehead on them for example that feature prominently as set dressing for any movie that takes place in the Soviet Union. As for Stalin there’s [a famous photograph of him](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=yalta+conference) complete with distinctive mustache. Misidentification is one thing (put Stalin next to a white haired guy in a Soviet military uniform who has a bushy mustache and I would have to think awfully hard before picking) but to have no clue what they look like is something else. While I could pick Khrushchev out of a line up of statues I would find that to be trivia even with the infamous television appearances (the shoe stands out more than the person there). Stalin and Lenin on the other hand are both significant, depicted in popular culture often, and (to put it in terms sure to anger any Russian readers) funny-looking enough to stick in the mind. (As an apology to Russian readers please feel free to call any US president whose appearance you can remember “funny-looking”. We don’t mind.) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/43 "2008-12-01T13:26:37Z")
But, they were given the name in Cyrillic in the clue! They could have ignored all statues and just worked from the plaques! ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/44 "2008-12-01T13:28:31Z")
**Robot Arm** , you are a very good synopsisizer. ---
**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, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/45 "2008-12-01T13:33:15Z")
I have to say I liked the tasks this week. Often the tasks are something like, “fall off this bridge” or “push this rock” or something equally describable in two-to-five words. The complicated tasks are more fun, especially when the teams get all confused and have to think and stuff. Thinking’s hard! **Taxi Assessment** **Stuck in the Desert and Officially Detained** - or, Philiminated with extreme prejudice. _Anita and Arthur_ - Keeping bees. _Anthony and Stephanie_ - Not getting married. Bummer. _Mark and Bill_ - Rolling 2d10 to cast a spell of Readthecluedammit. _Marisa and Brooke_ - Ineptly and slowly doing something. _Aja and Ty_ - Dating long-distance from opposite ends of Sequesterville. _Kelly and Christy_ - Helping Mark and Bill cast that spell. _Terence and Sarah_ - Hyperventilating about the competence of the omelet-maker in the breakfast buffet line in Sequesterville. _Toni and Dallas_ (down from “Passing”) - Well, this episode shows pretty convincingly the TAR truism that one single mistake can completely sink your chances. I’m pretty impressed with Toni & Dallas’s spirit, gutting it out in the face of certain elimination–but, when all’s said and done, certain elimination is what it was. It’s amusing that Dallas mixed up Lenin & Stalin (wouldn’t _they_ make a great TAR team!), and I was convinced that he got lucky when Tina helped him, but that one bit of bad luck overshadowed everything else. **Flat Tire** - or, not likely to get anywhere soon. No one this week. **Stopping for Gas** - or, not broken-down, exactly, but not a good sign. _Andrew and Dan_ (up from “Flat Tire”) - Astonishingly, this episode was actually Andrew & Dan’s best showing of the entire season. Not only did they beat the Amazing Moneybag-less Toni & Dallas, they also legitimately beat Ken & Tina, _while_ having to perform an additional task. I think the dancing judge gave the boys an Ugly American credit and let them off easy, but still, I have to move this team up a notch in the rankings. I’ll be flabbergasted if they win it all (considering how many times the Amazing Editors have blessed them with the Horns of Woe), but I have to admit they’re turning it on at the right time. **"Rapido! Por Favor?"** - or, making meaningless ineffectual comments from the back seat, but in no immediate danger. No one this week. **In the Passing Lane** - or, ahead of the pack, but not quite comfortably. _Ken and Tina_ (holding steady) - A legitimate contender for first place, but they’ll have to step up their game to beat Nick & Starr. They spend a little too much time snapping at each other and not quite enough time actually racing, as their not-a-trolley-bus mistake and their can’t-find-the-cluebox mistake show. **Cruisin’ with Earl** - or, drivin’ on the shoulder, takin’ shortcuts, and generally kickin’ butt. _Nick and Starr_ (holding steady) - This team has to be the favorite to win it all. Another first place this week gives them _six_ overall (tying guess who?), over only ten legs. And Nick really pulled his weight this week–not only did he coolly navigate the subway, but he was also the only person to get the right number (62) in the bust-counting task. This almost makes up for his naive lies-and-tricksyness strategy he keeps laying out. Next Week: The finale! [sub]Props to **Mullinator** and his Raj Ratings.[/sub] ---
**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:** [December 1, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/46 "2008-12-01T13:36:32Z")
Having been to Moscow and traveled the metros and trolleys, all I can say is that would have been one hell of a task. I thought I was good at making my way around subways and such, but not in Russia. I got lost a number of times, I can’t even imagine what it would be like trying to do it with the cameras following. I thought it was a good episode though, lots of good things, and it wasn’t easy. But didn’t Dallas notice pretty much right away he had lost his bag? He should have just started running down the road waving his arms, he might have gotten it all back. I wonder if they’re still there. ---
**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, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/47 "2008-12-01T13:45:28Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > I always thought Rule #1 of TAR was to read the FRICKIN CLUE. Not correct, you can recover from not reading the clue but you cannot recover from losing all your money and passport. I suppose there’s an understood “Rule #0” which reads something like, “Don’t do anything incredibly frickin’ stupid.” No need for seperate rules covering jumping in front of busses, losing your passports, or flying to Moscow, Idaho instead of Moscow, Russia. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/48 "2008-12-01T14:00:05Z")
At this point I kind of want Team Frat to win. They’re generally stupid, but generally able to just scrape by, and there’s really very little to dislike about them. Ken & Tina irritate me, mainly because of Tina but Ken is pretty p-whipped. And Nick/Starr irritate me too, but for reasons I have trouble putting my finger on. Also, at one point they were all taking taxis around Moscow looking for the right park, it was raining for everyone. But wherever Team Frat was it was sunny and clear-skied. It didn’t just look like they were in a different part of the city, it looked like a different day. Unless the other 3 teams were all within a block of each other under an extremely localized raincloud, it seemed a little suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/49 "2008-12-01T14:20:13Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Yeah, trivia. :rolleyes: > > It’s basic knowledge. I’m not a scholar of Russia or the Soviet Union. I don’t make special studies of those areas. I may have last seen a photo of Stalin or Lenin five or ten years ago. They’re rather distinctive-looking people, really. What Lenin and Stalin look like is not “basic knowledge.” Especially since they have been dead for 85 and 55 years respectively. Not to mention the fact that the Soviet Union collapsed almost two decades ago. Nick, Dallas and the Frats were toddlers. Now, if none of them could at least recognize the basics of both man’s place in history, that would be a reason to call them stupid. ---
**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, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/50 "2008-12-01T14:23:45Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > My GOD, the Frat Boys are goddamn LUCKY! Geez…every single leg they’re just THAT MUCH less stupid or unlucky than another team. And yet I can’t really say they don’t deserve Final Three, because…well…every single leg there was another team that was just THAT MUCH more stupid or unlucky than them. I’m hoping that at least Nick & Starr can shut down the curse of the Undying Frat Team. I won’t mind if either Nick & Starr or Ken & Tina win. I will be cursing the fates if the Frat Boys win. They’ll be the least deserving millionaires since Paris Hilton… Agreed–I’d argue that they were the worst racers to make it to the top five since…um… ever. Even Flo, for all her notoriety didn’t do too badly in the earlier legs–she just had a complete mental collapse about half-way through–but she was competent at a few things. Dandrew haven’t gotten ANYTHING right. I don’t think they’ve done a single task competently. I was really rooting for mom/son, but (IMO) killer fatigue bit Dallas in the butt, hard. Kudos to them for toughing it out and getting to the mat rather than sitting down and whining (Pizza Brothers). I loved this leg though–it actually had _clues_ as opposed to the “Go here/do this” directions we’ve become used to. Best leg in ages. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/51 "2008-12-01T14:26:44Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > And Nick/Starr irritate me too, but for reasons I have trouble putting my finger on. For me, it’s their smirkly, ineffective Snidely Whiplashism. They do unpleasant things for the sake of them, and then sit around congratulating themselves on how unpleasant that thing they just did was. It’s annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/52 "2008-12-01T15:14:09Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > **Dolores** , > > Taxi to a park with an old submarine. Two teams drew pictures of a submarine to show their driver. It looked like a minor bunching since three teams went in together. Find the guy who was in _The Hunt for Red October_ and get the next clue. > > Taxi to a park with old soviet-era statues. Dan & Andrew find cab driver who speaks English. He takes them to the wrong park. > > Roadblock. Count the number of statues of Lenin (6) and Stalin (2) (the instructions included the names in Cyrillic), taxi to a bookstore and tell the clerk the combined number (62) to get a book. (Incorrect guess means a 10-minutes wait.) Look on page 62 of the book to get a clue where to find the author’s apartment. The non-Roadblocking teammates went somewhere to wait. > > Nick blazed through. Dallas got Lenin and Stalin mixed up, and made a few incorrect guesses. Tina missed a Stalin, but she and Dallas compared notes. Andrew (I think) corrals a local for help, bumbles around, and gets lucky. > > The waiting teammates are at the apartment. When Dallas gets out of his cab, he leaves his Amazing Fannypack (containing his Amazing Passport and all their Amazing Money) behind. > > Taxi to a park to see a woman about a horse. Dallas & Toni scrounge the money for subway fare, but the woman won’t give them their clue. (Why was this not a penalty enforced at the Amazing Mat?) Subway back to the apartment, scrounge the money for cab fare, and back to the park. Clearly in fourth place now. > > Detour. Flotillas or Chinchillas. > > Just kidding. Ride the subway (go to one station for a pastry (clue on the wrapper), the next station to give the pastry to an old woman for a postcard clue, next station look for a Clue Box) or ride the trolley bus (one stop to get a key, instructions on the key send them to a train station locker, locker has postcard clue). > > Nick & Starr do the subway. Color-coded maps, looked like no problem. Ken & Tina get on a regular bus, figure out the mistake, go back to horse-woman park, and get on a trolley bus. Dan & Andrew hop a trolley bus. Dallas & Toni, more scrounging, then trolleys. > > From final park, on foot to Pit Stop. Nick & Starr first by a mile. Ken & Tina can’t find Clue Box. (Ken wants to look for the picture on the postcard. Smart Ken.) They see Dan & Andrew headed for the Pit Stop and follow. Dan & Andrew second (yeah, I couldn’t believe it either), Ken & Tina can’t check in because they skipped a clue. > > Dallas & Toni scrounge, Ken & Tina search. Very little suspense. Ken & Tina third. Amazing Phil meets Dallas & Toni at the train station and tells them they’ve been eliminated. They are gallant in defeat. > > Previews of next week. Thank you so much! I can’t believe I didn’t add extra time to my DVR. It’s set up correctly now, with an extra hour added 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, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/53 "2008-12-01T15:18:54Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > For me, it’s their smirkly, ineffective Snidely Whiplashism. They do unpleasant things for the sake of them, and then sit around congratulating themselves on how unpleasant that thing they just did was. It’s annoying. But they sure do have White Chicklet-like teeth. I thought it was odd when Dallas and Nick passed one another and Dallas didn’t see Nick. It’s one thing not to notice someone you’re walking by, but when that person has a backpack with the Amazing Bumpersticker on it _and is being trailed by a camera crew_, well, that’s just weird. I haven’t looked at that book that **Robot Arm** linked to. What I really want is for one of the cameramen to write a book. That would be awesome. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/54 "2008-12-01T15:32:43Z")
I wonder what they would have done if Toni and Dallas had managed to come in second? Is there a rule about 'lose your passport and you’re out? Because otherwise I think they have have to let them be in the Final Three, which would instantly turn into the Final Two the moment the clue reads 'Fly to (anywhere)" ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/55 "2008-12-01T15:39:16Z")
I noticed that they didn’t state the team’s arrival (at the last pit stop) and departure times at the top of the episode. I wonder what’s up with that? ---
**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, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/56 "2008-12-01T15:52:44Z")
Kudos (once again) to the Amazing Cameraman, who was able to get a shot of the Amazing Fannypack sitting on the floor of the cab without drawing Dallas’ attention to it. They always seem to get the shot. It’s like when the racers are screaming “Where’s the clue box!” and the camera pans over to it, like “you mean that one behind you?” ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/57 "2008-12-01T16:06:23Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Kudos (once again) to the Amazing Cameraman, who was able to get a shot of the Amazing Fannypack sitting on the floor of the cab without drawing Dallas’ attention to it. They always seem to get the shot. > > It’s like when the racers are screaming “Where’s the clue box!” and the camera pans over to it, like “you mean that one behind you?” BUT - they didn’t. Dallas was shown getting out of a BLACK taxi, and then the shot of the amazing fannypack on the floor was of a WHITE car. Plus the camera angle appears to be almost level with the fannypack, no way was the camera guy on the ball enough to get that shot. At the very least the editors used the wrong shot of Dallas getting out of the taxi. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/58 "2008-12-01T16:17:42Z")
So did CBS put them up in a hotel for the weeks it would take for them to get new passports, or did they track down the cab company and get it back, or are they still there? Maybe Toni and Dallas can be the new [Mehran Karimi Nasseri](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehran_Karimi_Nasseri) of Sheremeteyvo. ---
**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, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/59 "2008-12-01T16:25:01Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > What Lenin and Stalin look like is not “basic knowledge.” Especially since they have been dead for 85 and 55 years respectively. Not to mention the fact that the Soviet Union collapsed almost two decades ago. Nick, Dallas and the Frats were toddlers. Yeah, but they were in Moscow. If you want to know what Lenin looks like, just go to Red Square and the dude is _lying right there_. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056/60 "2008-12-01T17:40:55Z")
It looked like there were busts of both Lenin and Stalin, side by side and with their respective names spelled out in Russian under them, at the entrance of the park. All the racers had to do was look at those to know what the two looked like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-11-30-oh/475056.md?page=4)