S28.E09: Salt That Sand!

[Rinaldo]

Get it through your head, guys, Phil just is not that into you. 

They know that perfectly well. Can't a person make a silly joke in passing? I was amused by this one, for the moment it lasted.

[Haleth]

Since Kurt and Brodie would have had to use the Express Pass by the end of this episode anyway, it really doesn't matter that they burned it early, except now they are at the back of the pack and will have to make up time so as not to get U turned.  It really wasn't a good idea to have Kurt do all the up front detours.  I think they were so focused on coming in first each leg they didn't think ahead.  Sacrificing meaningless prizes so Brodie could get a fair share of detours done when there were lots of less competitive teams would have made more sense, leaving Kurt to breeze through the challenges now that they are getting close to the end.  I don't think Brodie is stupid, he just melts down when frustrated.

 

With the strongest team on the verge of collapse, it's looking good for Burnie and Ashley to make it to the final leg.

[Netfoot]

Nope nope nope. I could not do the snake task!

 

As far as I'm concerned. the cutlass (machete) was invented for interacting with snakes.  And that's the only type of interaction I'd be comfortable with.

 

And the meatballs were probably chicken.

 

Stupid me, thought the meatballs were dumplings of some sort. Cole and Sheri raced through that Speed Bump though.  And it wasn't just running through some fireworks.

 

Love the kites!

 

Gorgeous.  Where can I get plans?

 

she was the only female who did the water and salt task. Did pretty well... and the rowing- kept up pretty well.

 

She was bringing up the water one teaspoonful at a time.  How the hell she got finished so quickly, I'll never know.

 

If it's purely some sort of athletic enterprise I think he's fine but if you introduce puzzles or things that involves fine motor skills.....

 

..... or requires any brains.....

 

<hr>

 

Getting tired of that little shit Tyler hitting on Phil!

Edited April 23, 2016 by Netfoot

[fishcakes]

I don't get people who keep snakes as pets, but snakes themselves don't bother me. I was mostly worried that one of the racers would fall while carrying one (those things are much heavier than they look) and trying to run; if they landed on top of the snake, I would guess there might be trouble. It did make me laugh when Zach delivered his snake and then began dousing himself in water.

 

I was sorry to see Zach and Rachel go. They bring out the old lady in me, wanting to cluck, "what a nice young couple!" every time I see them.

 

Is this the first time that teams have been checked in before stepping on the mat? When Phil told Tyler and Korey that they were team number one while they were still in the water, I was a little disappointed that placement didn't come down to which team could swim to the boat faster.

 

I am disappointed though with Sheri and Cole reaction when doing the noodle speed bump. It is just noodle with meatball. The meatball is made out of beef and tapioca. There is no mystery meat there, no intestine. Why must they be ignorant?

 

I like Sheri and am completely indifferent to Cole, but they were being very much Ugly Americans about the soup. Personally I thought it looked delicious, but even if they didn't know what it was made from and didn't like it, there was no need to sit there next to the locals, shuddering and loudly squealing, "what is this, goat? Goat testicles?" That was just rude.

[spanana]

Putting aside their display with the soup, I find myself weirdly rooting for Sheri and Cole. Not to win necessarily, but in general.  I think it's mostly rooting for Sheri who continues kick ass at a lot of things, though Cole killed this leg of the race.  I love how unfazed Sheri was by the snake.  At the beginning this leg, I kind of got the impression that the other teams thought they would have an easy time getting rid of Sheri/Cole this leg, but alas it was not be.  

 

I wish Brodie would have gone home over Zach/Rachel and while Zach/Rachel should have tried to get a look at the task before deciding who was going to do it, Rachel was a trooper and it's not like her completion of the task took them totally out of the race.  Though is there a way to send Brodie home and not Kurt?  I think I like Kurt.  Though to me it's their own stupid fault for burning their express pass last leg over an entirely stupid task when they weren't even in danger of being eliminated.

 

Really I don't mind any of the remaining teams.   The only two individual people that annoy me are Brodie and Dana, and Dana was completely fine this leg.  I guess in some way I'm rooting for Burnie/Ashley to win because they seem like the most consistent and low drama racers?  As much as they haven't won a ton of legs and other remaining teams have, Burnie/Ashley still feel more consistent.

[Muffyn]

I don't think he's a complete moron but I think that he doesn't do as well when he's forced to do things on his own like the roadblocks. He is strong and fit so if he is told what to do, he is capable but tasks like the kite are his weakness because he expects to be spoonfed the instructions rather than figuring out how something works and how to insert tab A into slot B on his own.

Okay, now I'm thinking of Brodie in the bedroom.  Lights on.  Diagram placed by the bed.  If his partner is to shy to coach him, he has a coach set up in a chair in the corner, giving him directions. 

 

With the snake, Sherri and Cole seemed to check with the handler as to how best to carry them.  So they held the head and the tail with the snake draped over their shoulders.  Many of the teams that were more squicked out by the challenge did not control the snakes, letting them wrap around them more, which added to the creepiness factor.  I actually enjoyed Zach splashing water on himself after he delivered the snake.  This was definitely not a playing to the cameras moment.  Instead he forgot about the cameras and let his inner discomfort show.  If he had narrated, I think we would have heard, "Ick! Ick! Ugh! Ew!"

Edited April 23, 2016 by Muffyn

[Guiaoshi]

Wow, this seaon it turning out to be great actually... The legs are getting more and more difficult (totally wasnt expecting producers to take to hard on this group). If wasnt for Zach and Rachel bad decion on the first roadblock, they would be in and we would be spared of Brodie ( aka the Achilles' heel from his team) screams.  Its hard to see legs that relies so much in body strenghts and you have just one person in disavantage. But it was a ballanced leg, the second roadblock actually requires other skills.

Finally U-Turn is next leg, hope the teams dont shy away from this just to look good for their fans/friends.

Totally cheering for Burnie and Ashey (to at least win the las leg). They are the most ballanced team. So good to see couple being able to run all these legs, with such stress without go nasty on each other right?!! (honorable mention do Zach and Rachel too).

[whiporee]

I'm pulling for Kurt and Brodie because they seem like nice enough guys, much better than some of the muscleheads we've had in the past. 

 

I like them. They are inoffensive and have tried to be nice to everyone. As much as everyone is dissing Brodie, had Kurt a) gotten his bags right the first time b) not dropped one or c) been better at tying the bags, this wouldn't have been as close. And it did seem as though the observers were helping other racers, but mostly laughing at Brodie. That didn't seem all that cool.

 

I like everyone who's still here, but I think I've liked everyone in the race this season. For one I thought was going to be overly obnoxious, all the contestants have been low key and reasonably polite -- I think that because they are low-powered celebs, they've been conscious of the way they come off, and too much assholish behavior could cost them at their real jobs. That's been unexpected, but nice. And the fact that they all are willing to put themselves out in the public domain gives every one of them a playfullness that a lot of teams have historically lacked. 

 

Don't care who wins now, but ... oh what the hell. Go Gators! In all kinds of weather ...

Edited April 23, 2016 by whiporee

[NurseGiGi]

Putting aside their display with the soup, I find myself weirdly rooting for Sheri and Cole. Not to win necessarily, but in general.  I think it's mostly rooting for Sheri who continues kick ass at a lot of things, though Cole killed this leg of the race.  I love how unfazed Sheri was by the snake.  At the beginning this leg, I kind of got the impression that the other teams thought they would have an easy time getting rid of Sheri/Cole this leg, but alas it was not be.  

 

I wish Brodie would have gone home over Zach/Rachel and while Zach/Rachel should have tried to get a look at the task before deciding who was going to do it, Rachel was a trooper and it's not like her completion of the task took them totally out of the race.  Though is there a way to send Brodie home and not Kurt?  I think I like Kurt.  Though to me it's their own stupid fault for burning their express pass last leg over an entirely stupid task when they weren't even in danger of being eliminated.

Well, to be fair to Kurt, he was very reluctant to use that express pass and asked Brodie several times if he was sure he couldn't do the puzzle.  When Brodie gets frustrated he seems to just shut down and I'm sure Kurt realizes that about him.  If only Brodie had calmed down and waited for others to catch up he could have then copied their strategy.

[Blissfool]

I dislike brodie and am reading the comments about how ridiculous he was to expect help from the locals. HOWEVER, I,too, thought thelocals were going to help them build the kites. I wish I could rewatch the part where they read the directions. I remember that the wording made it seem like it would be a team effort.

Speedbump: i wonder if the locals are set up by producers. Are they given money and told to buy what the Americans are offering? It didn't seem that anyone was refusing.

[cooksdelight]

I think this was my favorite episode of the season thus far. When that first kite took off, I gasped. How beautiful!! That undulating tail was beyond anything I've ever seen on a kite. My first kite was the 5 & 10 cent store kind, paper with two sticks. My dad helped me make a tail out of my grandmother's quilting scraps. It flew so high, and got away from us, causing my dad to chase after it and fall flat on his face in the mud during the effort. I love kites.

Amazed at Sherri, she's the energizer bunny. She just keeps going and going and going.

[ForeverAlone]

I would have bet money that the soup buyers were production plants. And I wished each of them had to eat a bowl of soup, and not just shared one. Considering their rather extreme reaction to it, it would have been interesting if both of them had to eat their own bowl. 

 

The wording of the clue did  make it seem like the locals would help the racers out more, but I didn't really see any of the locals doing much helping (until it came time to fly the kite), except point out mistakes. 

[holly4755]

I like the whole season, I like that there has not been a gang up on that team because they are strong action. Everyone seems to be pleasant and get along. Too some varying degree they even help each other. (except early on that one girl who was last and thought everyone should help her not be last when they were all close to being tied). Ilike the tasks, I like that there has been no complaining about stick shift cars or bicycles or anything else you see on every single series of TAR, if they ever had watched it. I don't even mind Brodie, he has his issues, but he has not done anything to anyone else. I don't care who wins, not going to hate on anyone.  

 

just saying, I don't think those kites come cheap or easy. 

Double elimination next week will be stressful for the racers.

[Richness]

They know that perfectly well. Can't a person make a silly joke in passing? I was amused by this one, for the moment it lasted.

 

Of course they can. And I thought the Brittany snake reference was hilarious, along with a lot of the other jokes they've made that others have slammed them for because it's mugging for the camera. However, I just found the booty/butt double entendre pirate joke in poor taste compared to his usual jokes. This is also the second time they've tried flirting/joking with Phil at the mat. At least Phil didn't seem to mind this one as much as he did the offer of performing the traditional nose touch greeting with him on the last leg. That's why I replied with a sarcastic movie/book title ("He's Just Not That Into You") that directly references this instead of outright protest.

 

It did make me laugh when Zach delivered his snake and then began dousing himself in water.

 

I wonder if that was because of a fear of snakes, a fear of germs, or if the snake peed/pooped on him. Speaking of the snakes, Dana's comment to Matt about gripping/controlling the snake had me a little worried she was going to joke the snake to death. But then she goes and gets uncharacteristically supportive, leading me to believe she's been replaced with a nice doppelganger.

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm guessing the tapioca is what bothered them in the meatballs.

 

 

What bothered them was that they didn't know what was in the meatballs.

[Rick Kitchen]

Is it offensive to flirt with Phil if you're gay?  Women flirt with him all the time.

[Guiaoshi]

 

 

it offensive to flirt with Phil if you're gay?  Women flirt with him all the time.

 

IKR? That is the issue? Cause I dont think people would be bother if was a woman. Phil usually makes his jokes/goes personal on contestants ands seems like a confident/mature enough man to not feel ofended or treated by a flirt/joke.

[meep.meep]

Do women racers flirt with Phil?  Oswald and Danny flirted with him, but I don't remember any women flirting on the mat.

 

If Zach and Rachel were willing to walk the plank, couldn't they have actually gotten a plank?

[Nedsdag]

This is my first time in TAR. But if there are any basketball fans in here, does Kurt resemble Atlanta Hawks backup guard Kirk Hinrich?

 

As for the show, I have no rooting interest, but this is the first season I can remember that all of the racers weren't total a-holes and drama queens. It seems everyone is sort of on their best behavior. I know the dancers had their little spat, but maturity won over the day. 

[shura]

In all fairness, while I agree they should not have used it last week, the Express Pass got them a trip to Finland. Considering the odds of winning the $1M and the nice prizes they now give out at each pit stop, trying for first place on as many legs as possible is not stupid.

 

Ah yes, the trip to Finland! When they were showing their reaction to winning this prize and one of the guys was all "Helsinki! Wow! That's crazy!", I was thinking "Really? Helsinki? Crazy?" It's nice and a maybe little different from your usual tropical vacations, but I don't think I would characterize it as "crazy".

 

Speaking of the snakes, Dana's comment to Matt about gripping/controlling the snake had me a little worried she was going to joke the snake to death. But then she goes and gets uncharacteristically supportive, leading me to believe she's been replaced with a nice doppelganger.

 

Dana's comment kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Did she think she is the only carrier of this valuable info that a python (or whatever those snakes were) may constrict you and she needs to warn her partner who, of course, has no idea about this? Did she think the show would go for this kind of challenge if it were a real possibility?

 

Just to check that I understand correctly how the salt process works: they wet the sand, let it dry, then collect the salt together with some sand it has dried on, dissolve it again, filter the now much more concentrated brine to get rid of the sand, and then let the clean brine evaporate again in those troughs?

[fishcakes]

Do women racers flirt with Phil?  Oswald and Danny flirted with him, but I don't remember any women flirting on the mat.

 

Mirna (of Charla and Mirna) is the one I remember, and she flirted with him so much it became a running joke on the show. They'd show her fussing with her hair in the cab on the way to pit stop and hugging him pretty much every time. Sometimes he'd look alarmed when he saw her coming in for the grope, but I don't think he really minded.

[Browncoat]

Lena and Kristy in Season 6 also flirted with Phil.

[mikewho]

You don't remember Mirna? Smiling, hugging and kissing him every time they got to the mat?

[Netfoot]

I thought was going to be overly obnoxious

 

In the first few legs there was a lot more obnoxicity, but as I'd hoped, the urgency of the race (plus KF) has beaten down some of that.

 

I wished each of them had to eat a bowl of soup, and not just shared one. Considering their rather extreme reaction to it...

 

I thought their extreme reaction was to the pepper, not the goat-balls dumplings!

 

Is it offensive to flirt with Phil if you're gay?

 

No, but it is offensive to flirt with him if you're a smarmy little shit.

 

Just to check that I understand correctly how the salt process works: they wet the sand, let it dry, then collect the salt together with some sand it has dried on, dissolve it again, filter the now much more concentrated brine to get rid of the sand, and then let the clean brine evaporate again in those troughs?

 

I believe the process calls for you to water the sand and let it dry out many times, until there is a considerable buildup of salt.  Then you scrape the salt (and a bit of sand) up, and re-dissolve, filter out the sand, pour the concentrated brine into hollow coconut palm logs, and from there, collect the crystalizing salt with a coconut shell, and bag it.

[J-Man]

I guess I must be really old, because I was surprised that not a single racer said "Why did it have to be SNAKES?"
 

[Fukui San]

Has Brodie been this stealth useless all season and we just never realized it because he was a big strapping guy and not a widdle girl? Maybe he's perfect for Blair.

Walking the plank was a great way to go out. A particularly great episode, actually. A smorgasbord of things we like in TAR. Animals, culture clash, good tasks, close finish, scenery.

[possibilities]

I love snakes, and those snakes were gorgeous. I think I might have been in danger of moving too slowly, just to have more time with them, had I been offered this task. Loved Sheri's enthusiasm for it. Was terrified someone was going to grip too hard and injure one of the snakes. I would be much more afraid of water from a puddle-- I shuddered to think what might be in it when I saw Zach splashing himself.

 

The kites were gorgeous.

 

I laughed that even without driving, navigation was the hardest part of the leg for Sheri and Cole. And yes, I like her but the both of them were rude about the soup and I was disappointed by that.

 

I had not even noticed that Kurt had been doing most of the roadblocks. Brodie is such a louder personality, I hardly noticed Kurt at all. It's amazing that he had colon cancer at 22, though-- wow. That's very rare. I had some GI problems in my late 20s and was worried about colon cancer because of family history, and the gastroenterologist told me it was so unlikely at my age that she almost didn't even think it was worth testing for. Maybe she was incompetent, or maybe Kurt is an extreme outlier.

 

I thought money was going to be a problem when I heard Dana and Matt say how much cash they had for the leg. It's the first time I remember in a long time, that anyone has talked about that when ripping the first clue open.

 

How long have Burnie and Ashley been together? They have the easy harmony of a long term happy couple.

 

Sheri asking Cole if he as okay when all he was doing was running to the next stop struck e as strange. Unless he's injured, it seemed like more evidence that she really is over-protective and it might explain why he's been so under-performing until the saltwater task.

 

Count me among those who would prefer silence to an endless stream of yelling inane support during roadblocks. I realize some people like the constant encouragement, and it makes them feel connected. But for me, it's exhausting to be constantly bombarded with noise, and every time my partner says something, it steals my focus away from what I'm trying to do. If she has something important to say, of course that's fine. But otherwise, be quiet and let me think. I know you love me and I can do it. And if I don't, yelling it at me isn't going to change my mind. It would be different if partners could actually give practical suggestions. But for cheerleading alone, it gives me a headache.

Edited April 23, 2016 by possibilities

[RCharter]

They know that perfectly well. Can't a person make a silly joke in passing? I was amused by this one, for the moment it lasted.

sometimes with korey and especially tyler I feel like the jokes are forced and almost pre-written.

 

there were a few times during this leg of the race that tyler would make a joke, and it wasn't with any joy or fun, it was just like it was forced.  I like off the cuff jokes in passing, but I noticed it felt forced

**********************************************************************************************

I can't believe it, but I'm actually rooting for two teams this far into the race....Burnie/Ashley and Sherri/Cole.

 

I must say that I've been very, very impressed in reading Ashley's responses on the Amazing Race FB page and it makes me like the team even more.  But for Sherri and Cole to come in third after a speed bump was very impressive.  Agree there was some Ugly Americanism.....because...even if its goat testicles, just eat it and move along.....as someone else said, the soup looked delicious.  Although I may have asked them to take it easy on the hot sauce since it looked amazingly hot.

[indeed]

I thought the "I love you, boo"s were cute.

[Quilt Fairy]

Ah yes, the trip to Finland! When they were showing their reaction to winning this prize and one of the guys was all "Helsinki! Wow! That's crazy!", I was thinking "Really? Helsinki? Crazy?" It's nice and a maybe little different from your usual tropical vacations, but I don't think I would characterize it as "crazy".

Well, it's crazy to think they're going to go there. I'd bet odds that that's one trip that will be exchanged for cash.

[whiskeyandfeet]

My favorite remaining team is Sherri's boobs.

 

 

Sorry.

[Kelda Feegle]

I would have made a 'booty' joke too - rocking ship, feeling piraty etc, and yes I laughed. I may have also aske Phil where his parrot was or something equally piraty, matey :-) garrnnnnnnnnnnn.

[RCharter]

I would have made a 'booty' joke too - rocking ship, feeling piraty etc, and yes I laughed. I may have also aske Phil where his parrot was or something equally piraty, matey :-) garrnnnnnnnnnnn.

Sadly, I would have made the joke too.  I always look for any excuse to speak pirate....and then I always end up slipping into Jamaican pirate accent.

 

But yes, it would be hard not to make the booty joke....although, again, with Korey it sounded a little pre-rehearsed, which sort of turns me off.  I like seeing these shows for the reality of it, its takes me out of the moment when it seems like a joke was pre-written.

Well, it's crazy to think they're going to go there. I'd bet odds that that's one trip that will be exchanged for cash.

you mean you don't think he is going to take Blair there on their honeymoon?  You don't think their love is real?  I'm shocked.

 

Do you have to pay taxes on the trip whether you take it or not?  Because that might be a factor for me if I didn't actually want to take the trip.

Edited April 24, 2016 by RCharter

[vousviou]

I thought for sure as soon as Kurt told his cancer story that they'd be eliminated.

 

The father and son Dave and Connor who won a few seasons back were both cancer survivors and that was brought up more than once by them, so I didn't assume Kurt's story meant that they were in trouble.

 

Speaking of the father and son, though, I'm glad that the show is making a point here about both teammates doing an equal share of the roadblocks, since those two notoriously got away with the son doing a lot more than he should have.  I suspect the prominent mention of the balance of tasks by more than one team was the result of either a reminder from the production staff, or else someone on the remaining teams bringing up the rules on the way to Indonesia.

[vousviou]

> I can't believe it, but I'm actually rooting for two teams this far into the race....Burnie/Ashley and Sherri/Cole.

 

I agree, especially about Burnie and Ashley.  I don't particularly care about Brodie, but I'm a fan of Kurt as well so if that team wins I won't be too upset.

 

> Agree there was some Ugly Americanism.....because...even if its goat testicles, just eat it and move along.....as someone else said, the soup looked delicious.  Although I may have asked them to take it easy on the hot sauce since it looked amazingly hot.

 

The thing that always bothers me about food squeamishness is that there are things in the US that are also "bad."  Sausage is all manner of pig ground up with fat and stuffed into an intestine, honey is the collected liquid extrusion from countless insects, and lobster and shrimp are basically giant bugs. 

[RCharter]

The father and son Dave and Connor who won a few seasons back were both cancer survivors and that was brought up more than once by them, so I didn't assume Kurt's story meant that they were in trouble.

 

Speaking of the father and son, though, I'm glad that the show is making a point here about both teammates doing an equal share of the roadblocks, since those two notoriously got away with the son doing a lot more than he should have.  I suspect the prominent mention of the balance of tasks by more than one team was the result of either a reminder from the production staff, or else someone on the remaining teams bringing up the rules on the way to Indonesia.

I had no idea that teams had to do an equal share of roadblocks until this season when it was mentioned.  It puts a lot of things into perspective, but it must make it hard to divvy up tasks.  There always seems to be a team member that is just sort of better.  So, how do you keep from having a Brodie/Kurt situation....without running into a Zach/Rachel situation.  He probably imagined that he was the stronger team member (nothing wrong with that at all) and so he tried to give her a task that didn't involve puzzles, and from the clue probably didn't sound that difficult.

 

I remember Sherri mentioning that she and Cole agreed that he would do tasks with speed and strength and she would do tasks that took brainpower, and something else.  I think Cole is generally useless, but perhaps they imagined there would be more speed/strength tasks towards the end, or there would be more physical teams towards the end so they wanted to save him for those tasks.

 

 

> I can't believe it, but I'm actually rooting for two teams this far into the race....Burnie/Ashley and Sherri/Cole.

 

I agree, especially about Burnie and Ashley.  I don't particularly care about Brodie, but I'm a fan of Kurt as well so if that team wins I won't be too upset.

 

> Agree there was some Ugly Americanism.....because...even if its goat testicles, just eat it and move along.....as someone else said, the soup looked delicious.  Although I may have asked them to take it easy on the hot sauce since it looked amazingly hot.

 

The thing that always bothers me about food squeamishness is that there are things in the US that are also "bad."  Sausage is all manner of pig ground up with fat and stuffed into an intestine, honey is the collected liquid extrusion from countless insects, and lobster and shrimp are basically giant bugs. 

I hadn't thought about that, but you're absolutely right.  Hot dogs are probably the worst offenders.

 

I like Kurt much more.  I think I've always seen he and Brodie as one unit, and Brodie was just so loud and "bro-y" that I never got to focus on Kurt, who seems like a nice guy.

 

So, in this season that I generally thought was full of dopes....I find myself rooting for two teams and pretty okay with Kurt/Brodie.  I wouldn't have thought that would be the case.

[ilovepuzzles]

I must say that I didn't watch much of the first part simply because simply looking at snakes bothers me.  I'm getting better but it still literally brings nightmares.

So this leg and the last leg with the sharks is why I will never be on the Amazing Race, even if it is my favorite TV show.

 

I was sad to see Zach and Rachel go. They and Burnie/Ashley were/are my favorite teams.

[RCharter]

I must say that I didn't watch much of the first part simply because simply looking at snakes bothers me.  I'm getting better but it still literally brings nightmares.

My mother is the same way.  she can barely handle earthworms....but she will actively change the channel if there is a snake on TV.

[etagloh]

Another one here sad to see Zach and Rachel go. I'm not sure if swapping the RB would have saved them, but they get an A for effort on this leg.

 

It was a good leg, not just in terms of the structure -- as good as you can get for a taxi leg, I think, with its combination of physical and skill challenges --  but also because the double RB seemed like a pivot for the race. I can't pick a winner, because the bros are clearly showing signs of weakness just as Tyler and Korey showed they were fallible. Burnie/Ashley seem to be getting something like a winners' edit but I'm not as confident about the "always the bridesmaid" thing compared to last season.

 

This is a curious season compared to recent ones, because you're getting a lot of talk-to-camera (even from relatively personable types like Burnie) but not getting the kind of sniping and nastiness that we've seen recently.

 

I would have bet money that the soup buyers were production plants. And I wished each of them had to eat a bowl of soup, and not just shared one. Considering their rather extreme reaction to it, it would have been interesting if both of them had to eat their own bowl.

They were definitely plants: it was a Speed Bump, which is and always has been a slightly flexible time penalty disguised as a task. I'm fine with that, not least because I'm uncomfortable with actual 'sell stuff to locals' tasks.

Edited April 24, 2016 by etagloh

[holly4755]

the year I would have been complaining about having to eat something was the year they had to eat chopped raw octopus that was still moving and the tentacles tried to climb back out of their throats. Yes indeed that would have brought out the complaining big time from me. And both team members had to eat of plate of them. It was a long time ago, maybe the 5th or 6th year, most probably would not have remember this. 

[BK1978]

I feel like a jerk for even saying this but I shall say it...

 

Is Cole a little slow?  As Trevor Phillips says in GTA V, Cole looks (Well in his case sounds) like he struggles with simple tasks.  Now maybe I am wrong but he just seems a little slow to me.

[RCharter]

I feel like a jerk for even saying this but I shall say it...

 

Is Cole a little slow?  As Trevor Phillips says in GTA V, Cole looks (Well in his case sounds) like he struggles with simple tasks.  Now maybe I am wrong but he just seems a little slow to me.

well, he is in college so....maybe?  JK, I'm sure he is fine!

[Fat Bastard]

the year I would have been complaining about having to eat something was the year they had to eat chopped raw octopus that was still moving and the tentacles tried to climb back out of their throats.

That was in season 4 I believe. At least they got fresh food...

 

In my grossometer season 6 in Hungary where they ended up eating each other's puke on soup bowl was the top.

 

Feels like there are lot less eating challenges in recent seasons.

[Richness]

Is it offensive to flirt with Phil if you're gay?  Women flirt with him all the time.

 

Doesn't bother me, but Phil just was not into them either. Both genders should probably back off flirting with a married man.

[mertensia]

What bothered them was that they didn't know what was in the meatballs.

True but it seemed to get them more after tasting, so I'd guess it was the tapioca texture.

[Fukui San]

The texture of those balls are pretty rubbery, right? As in they'll literally bounce a little? It'd be pretty easy to convince Americans they're actual testicles.

[Haleth]

I had no idea that teams had to do an equal share of roadblocks until this season when it was mentioned.  It puts a lot of things into perspective, but it must make it hard to divvy up tasks.  There always seems to be a team member that is just sort of better.  So, how do you keep from having a Brodie/Kurt situation....without running into a Zach/Rachel situation.  He probably imagined that he was the stronger team member (nothing wrong with that at all) and so he tried to give her a task that didn't involve puzzles, and from the clue probably didn't sound that difficult.

Yup.  It's the Bowling Moms Rule instituted after season 5 (right?).  It meant big, strong, athletic guys (like Colin) couldn't do all the roadblocks, thereby eliminating all female teams like the Moms.

[Kelda Feegle]

Sadly, I would have made the joke too.  I always look for any excuse to speak pirate....and then I always end up slipping into Jamaican pirate accent.

 

Hahaha mine slips into an Irish inflection.

 

Remember the melted cheese eating (fondue) session in one season? That was gross for my tastes. And I agree far fewer eating tests in later seasons. I actually really like tapioca.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Kelda Feegle

[sinycalone]

Yep, Season 5 - Chip/Kim, Brendan/Nicole, and Colin/Christie were the primary culprits for the vastly uneven distribution of roadblocks.  I think Kim, Nicole, and Christie probably did a total of 3 tasksl  

[Netfoot]

Sausage is all manner of pig ground up with fat and stuffed into an intestine, honey is the collected liquid extrusion from countless insects, and lobster and shrimp are basically giant bugs. 

 

And fruit are the genitals of trees.  

 

It's all down to what you're accustomed to, and what freaks out your head.