# The Amazing Race 2/27 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853 "2011-02-27T23:02:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/41 "2011-02-28T19:54:34Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Never heard of bismuth; where do you think Pepto-Bismol got its name? Pepto Bismol’s active ingredient is indeed bismuth subsalicylate. I used to work in the metal industry and we an alloy that we could add to one out products was lead-bismuth. It turned the metal into a putrid shade of green. Because of environmental impacts of lead, the alloy was phased out. Interesting tidbit from the [wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bismuth) on Bismuth. > [@](#): > > Bismuth has classically been considered to be the heaviest naturally-occurring stable element. Recently, however, it has been found to be very slightly radioactive: its only naturally occurring isotope bismuth-209 decays via alpha decay into thallium-205 with a half-life of more than a billion times the estimated age of the universe. Half life of more than a billion times times the estimated age of the universe? ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/42 "2011-02-28T19:55:06Z")
1: This is a fucking RACE! 1a: Therefore, alliances should be brief, defined and no hard feelings when they end. They’re not your “friends”, they’re your competition. You can be friends afterward. 1b: Run your own race. Obsessing about what the other teams think of you will kill you. And trying to “get” another team never, ever works. 2: Read the fucking CLUE. Then read it again! 3: Know how to drive a fucking stickshift transmission. 4: Stay hydrated, or you will get fucked up.\* 5: First thing you do at the arrival airport (or port or train station), buy a fucking MAP! 5b: If you’re lost, _ask people_. Don’t just hope you can figure it out. 1. Keep your shit (clues, possessions, SHOES!, passports, etc) with you _at all times_ unless you’re at a race-designated backpack drop-point. 2. This is the Amazing Race, not Dr. Freud’s Therapy Clinic. This is NOT the time to see if you want to marry him, it’s not the time to “work out issues with your dad”, it’s not the time to say “Our relationship is really rocky right now, so we’re going to go do the most stressful thing of our lives.” You’re in the race to win, not to self-actualize yourself and your partner. \*Why was this not a problem for the first 14, 15 seasons? I don’t recall anyone fainting of dehydration, and in the earlier seasons you had to pay for EVERYTHING. Including your own water. Now they give it away to the contestants. What changed? (other than the average IQ of the contestants going down about 20 points 😉 ) ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/43 "2011-02-28T19:55:23Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Never heard of bismuth; where do you think Pepto-Bismol got its name? Didn’t know until now and never would have made the connection since they are spelled different. > [@](#): > > And that being such a small town, I’d expect the map to have plenty of room for all the street names. For that matter, while they were driving around, did any of the teams notice the pattern in the street names before getting the Hg and Bi clue? What pattern? Have you looked at the map of the area? There’s a lot of mineral type street names but not really element street names. I’d also say that unless you get a map of Broken Hill itself the majority of maps from a tourist office will not have all the little streets on them. Wiki says it has a population of about 18,000. While not a huge city, that’s still pretty big and I can’t think of a free map for a city that size has every little street. I also think that the majority of people do not know what bismuth is, though I’ll have to ask around and really see if the people around me know. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/44 "2011-02-28T20:07:22Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Sure enough, Kynt knew the periodic table by heart. Freaky. > > StG You don’t even have to come close to knowing the periodic table by heart. You just have to know or be somewhat familiar with what the chemical symbols stand for. Hg is a little difficult, because it has no relation to the English word (it comes from Latin _hydrargyrum_) but Bi is really easy if you know about bismuth. Maybe I’m just weird, though… ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/45 "2011-02-28T20:18:57Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I have to admit that when they read the challenge for Broken Hill, I thought “Just watch one of the Gothettes be some kind of chemistry savant.” Sure enough, Kynt knew the periodic table by heart. Freaky. I don’t know the whole periodic table by heart, but I knew mercury and bismuth. No problem. (I do often suspect that I would kick ass if I could get on the Race, but who really knows.) By the way, after they went to the sports ground (home of the magpies), changed into kangaroo costumes, and ran to the next clue, how did they all pile into their cars again? The Amazing Producers must have had people on hand to move the vehicles for them. Seems like an opportunity to cheat, just follow the guy who takes your vehicle to the next clue. I did check google maps just now. Not as many element-themed street names as I might have expected, and there’s no telling what route the teams drove on their way to the stadium. I found the intersection of Mercury and Bismuth; was wondering how far they had to run in those costumes but wasn’t sure where the stadium was that they started from. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/46 "2011-02-28T20:36:47Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I don’t know the whole periodic table by heart, but I knew mercury and bismuth. No problem. (I do often suspect that I would kick ass if I could get on the Race, but who really knows.) > > By the way, after they went to the sports ground (home of the magpies), changed into kangaroo costumes, and ran to the next clue, how did they all pile into their cars again? The Amazing Producers must have had people on hand to move the vehicles for them. Seems like an opportunity to cheat, just follow the guy who takes your vehicle to the next clue. > > I did check google maps just now. Not as many element-themed street names as I might have expected, and there’s no telling what route the teams drove on their way to the stadium. I found the intersection of Mercury and Bismuth; was wondering how far they had to run in those costumes but wasn’t sure where the stadium was that they started from. According to the Aussie rules football website, the stadium is at the “Memorial Oval” at google maps. Assuming they start on the West side of the stadium, it’s about 1.3 km as the kangaroo hops to the intersection. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/47 "2011-02-28T20:37:14Z")
Here’s a link to the [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps?near=Broken+Hill+New+South+Wales+2880,+Australia&geocode=CUlPj1EIkLRoFW5kGP4dMJZuCCnNwlLeYDPvajFwAUSQtAkGBA&q=Magpies&f=l&sll=-31.955012,141.44861&sspn=0.00528,0.00766&ie=UTF8&hq=Magpies&hnear=&ll=-31.959863,141.443117&spn=0.010559,0.023496&t=h&z=16). The stadium marked Memorial Oval on the map appears to be the Magpies’ field, or at least, its what Google thinks. Bismuth & Mercury wasn’t exactly across the street. A pretty good challenge for the teams, I think. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/48 "2011-02-28T20:42:40Z")
Judging from Google Maps, from Memorial Oval (which Google Maps points out when I asked for “Central Football Club”) to the corner of Bismuth and Mercury is about six blocks. ETA: I need to get faster… ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/49 "2011-02-28T20:45:30Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I don’t know the whole periodic table by heart, but I knew mercury and bismuth. No problem. (I do often suspect that I would kick ass if I could get on the Race, but who really knows.) Both my wife and I knew “bismuth;” I knew “mercury.” Just for fun, [here’s an offical visitor’s map](http://www.visitbrokenhill.com.au/pages/maps/) of Broken Hill. I like to think I would have recognized the Bromide, Sulphide, Chloride Streets, etc., and if looking closely Cobal and Wolfram. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I did check google maps just now. Not as many element-themed street names as I might have expected, and there’s no telling what route the teams drove on their way to the stadium. I found the intersection of Mercury and Bismuth; was wondering how far they had to run in those costumes but wasn’t sure where the stadium was that they started from. [Here’s a map of the two points.](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Central+Football+Club,+Warnock+Street,+Broken+Hill+NSW,+Australia&daddr=Bismuth+St+and+Mercury+St+Broken+Hill+NSW,+Australia&hl=en&geocode=FVtgGP4df1JuCCFvPhS2HWMZnA%3BFRhGGP4djEhuCCldkaWhE6zuajH3OxxGDjO39w&mra=ls&sll=-31.95929,141.446539&sspn=0.006809,0.009624&ie=UTF8&ll=-31.960264,141.446357&spn=0.006809,0.009624&t=h&z=17) They’re about a mile apart by car, and probably less on foot. ETA: Cripes. Lots of people with too much time on their hands today. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/50 "2011-02-28T20:51:32Z")
I wonder if it would be a better strategy to try to find someone with a computer to Google Map these things than to ask random people how to find them? Then again, when the one group did get the woman to look up the definitions of Hg and Bi, she basically recognized them as street names and pointed them in the right direction, so it would probably be a wash, at best. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/51 "2011-02-28T21:00:21Z")
> [@zut](#): > > ETA: Cripes. Lots of people with too much time on their hands today. Indeed! 🙂 If you are really bored, you can “drive” the whole way using Street View! Pretty amazing how thoroughly Australia was covered by the Google Cars… ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/52 "2011-02-28T21:42:29Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I wonder if it would be a better strategy to try to find someone with a computer to Google Map these things than to ask random people how to find them? Then again, when the one group did get the woman to look up the definitions of Hg and Bi, she basically recognized them as street names and pointed them in the right direction, so it would probably be a wash, at best. It’s probably tough to tell what would be the best strategy, since it depends on how recognizable the clue is. Random people are easy to find, Google access is harder, and I don’t think you could know how recognizible a clue devoid of context (like “To Sail To Stop” or “Mercury and Bismuth”) is to a local. I figure I might ask like six to ten random locals before I seriously started looking for an internet cafe, depending on the relative availability of random locals and internet access. Or random locals _with_ internet access. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/53 "2011-02-28T22:18:07Z")
> [@zut](#): > > It’s probably tough to tell what would be the best strategy, since it depends on how recognizable the clue is. Random people are easy to find, Google access is harder, and I don’t think you could know how recognizible a clue devoid of context (like “To Sail To Stop” or “Mercury and Bismuth”) is to a local. I figure I might ask like six to ten random locals before I seriously started looking for an internet cafe, depending on the relative availability of random locals and internet access. Or random locals _with_ internet access. These days in certain parts of the world, it’s practically the same thing. Ask random locals if any of them has a smart phone and then do a web search right on the streetcorner. The only advantage of an internet cafe is you could print out a map to where you’re trying to go and figure the quickest route. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/54 "2011-02-28T22:40:50Z")
[QUOTE=zut;13514939_Jaime & Cara_ (Season 14/2nd place/3.92 average) (down from “Rapido!”) We didn’t see that much from this team either, and what we did was pretty mediocre. I don’t see this team lasting that long, even discounting what looks to be high drama next episode.[/QUOTE] I don’t see why these two are rated so low. They finished second in their previous season to a very good team. Yes, they were ninth on this leg, but the time difference between fourth and ninth was minutes, if not seconds, and they knew very well that they were not going to be eliminated. They’ve never, in two seasons, been even close to being eliminated except for at the very end of their first season, when everyone left was close to being eliminated. They are strong and athletic, don’t seem to have any personal issues, and are smart and efficient. The only teams that I would put ahead of them are the cowboys and the globetrotters, based purely on athleticism. With the less obvious clues and the trouble they had with the flag puzzle, I’m not too sure about the cowboys. ---
**Author:** ![McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2011, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/55 "2011-02-28T22:51:54Z")
> [@zut](#): > > Well, on the one hand, you’re right. There was another team-based travel reality show three or four years ago that only lasted one season (I forget what it was called). Zut it was called called “Lost”. I think there were 2 seasons, but they were very short (maybe 6 episodes per season). And I think it was 2000 or 2001. That show was insane, they dropped 2 people (who didn’t know each other!) in the middle of nowhere with no money! All they knew was they had to get to New York in a month (I think the 2nd season they had to get to Los Angeles). In Season 1 they were dropped-off somehwere in South America, the contestants didn’t even know what country they were in! That would truely be an “Amazing Race”. MtM ---
**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:** [March 1, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/56 "2011-03-01T00:15:33Z")
> [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](#): > > Zut it was called called “Lost”. I think there were 2 seasons, but they were very short (maybe 6 episodes per season). And I think it was 2000 or 2001. > > That show was insane, they dropped 2 people (who didn’t know each other!) in the middle of nowhere with no money! All they knew was they had to get to New York in a month (I think the 2nd season they had to get to Los Angeles). I thought he was referring to one that was more a take off of National Treasure. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/57 "2011-03-01T00:21:22Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I thought he was referring to one that was more a take off of National Treasure. Yeah, [Treasure Hunters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Hunters_%28TV_series%29) ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/58 "2011-03-01T02:02:07Z")
Aww, I loved Treasure Hunters! It was through watching it that I found TAR, which seems so ridiculous to me now. Can’t believe I’d not watched it before. That show was a lot of fun. ---
**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:** [March 1, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/59 "2011-03-01T02:08:59Z")
I gotta say, all of this teamwork is making TAR very uninteresting. You might as well dispense with the clues and make it into just a race with no clues and random bunching points. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853/60 "2011-03-01T02:27:44Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I gotta say, all of this teamwork is making TAR very uninteresting. You might as well dispense with the clues and make it into just a race with no clues and random bunching points. It’s the first leg. Give it some time and they’ll spread out and stop helping each other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-amazing-race-2-27/572853.md?page=4)