The Amazing Race 15

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by srmom

My husband said there were 600 possible results with the 5 letters, all unknown. Knowing the first letter was F would reduce it to 96 choices. (is that math right?) It would certainly have taken less than 4 hours to write down every possibility!

If you knew that the first letter was F, wouldn't there only be 24 possibilities?

[srmom]

I think he must have done 4x4x3x2 to get 96. I'm not sure Math isn't my thing!! LOL

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by srmom

I think he must have done 4x4x3x2 to get 96. I'm not sure Math isn't my thing!! LOL

I'm not very mathematical.

I just wrote it down. So.. if it had to start with F, I wrote all of the possibilities to come after that, starting with the letter A:

If N was the next letter after A, for example, there are only 2 letters that could follow that, and therefore, only two words that could start F-A-N (hopefully that makes sense!). So...

FANZR
FANRZ

Same with FAZ:

FAZNR
FAZRN

And so on. So there would be 6 possibilities starting with FA

FANZR
FANRZ
FAZNR
FAZRN
FARZN
FARNZ

Since there are 6 possibilites with each of the 4 different letters to immediately follow F...

6 x 4 = 24. I guess.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I'm not very mathematical.

I just wrote it down. So.. if it had to start with F, I wrote all of the possibilities to come after that, starting with the letter A:

If N was the next letter after A, for example, there are only 2 letters that could follow that, and therefore, only two words that could start F-A-N (hopefully that makes sense!). So...

FANZR
FANRZ

Same with FAZ:

FAZNR
FAZRN

And so on. So there would be 6 possibilities starting with FA

FANZR
FANRZ
FAZNR
FAZRN
FARZN
FARNZ

Since there are 6 possibilites with each of the 4 different letters to immediately follow F...

6 x 4 = 24. I guess.

Mathematically, it shouldn't have taken long. I also think it has to do with context, which the players may rely on when solving their tasks. Maybe the Globetrotters never heard the name Franz (Kafka) before, or didnt connect the telephones to the Kafka-esque thing, or make any relation to the task and being in Prague.

I think its similar to how they got tripped up a few eps ago over the watch-combination number task.

I just wonder if, during that 4-hour penalty, the answer clicked to either of them.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by tld221

I just wonder if, during that 4-hour penalty, the answer clicked to either of them.

That's what I wondered, also. I was hoping they'd show them giving some feedback about the challenge.

[AGDee]

It would be 4! (factorial) which is 4X3X2X1= 24, if you knew the first one was F. If not, there are 5! possibities = 24X5= 120.

[srmom]

so even if there were 120 options, you could easily write them down before 4 hours!! Why oh Why did Big Easy have to be the one to do it! I think the other guy maybe could have gotten it, but maybe they're both dolts !!

I kept thinking, "don't they know anyone named Frank?" It would be easy to just put the z on the end then!!!

Remember when the deaf guy had to "sound out" that name? He got it, and it seemed alot harder than Franz!!

AGDee, thanks for the correct way to do it, I'll have to tell my hubby he's a dummy!! (like I would have been able to figure it out!! LOL)

[efcheerBB]

Also, unless I misheard, when the brother asked him what letters he had, didn't he even say F-R-A-N-Z? I was working on a paper and thought that was what I heard.

[tld221]

Originally Posted by srmom

so even if there were 120 options, you could easily write them down before 4 hours!! Why oh Why did Big Easy have to be the one to do it! I think the other guy maybe could have gotten it, but maybe they're both dolts !!

I kept thinking, "don't they know anyone named Frank?" It would be easy to just put the z on the end then!!!

Remember when the deaf guy had to "sound out" that name? He got it, and it seemed alot harder than Franz!!

AGDee, thanks for the correct way to do it, I'll have to tell my hubby he's a dummy!! (like I would have been able to figure it out!! LOL)

i thought that too!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

That sucks that the Harlem Globetrotters got eliminated but come on, not being able to solve such a short anagram was a bit .

Finally watched it last night, and my feeling exactly.

Originally Posted by OTW

BF seems to think the Globetrotters' elimination was staged. Free publicity for the Harlem Globetrotters and high ratings from people tuning in to cheer them on is a win-win situation for TAR.

Interesting thought. It did seem odd to me that professional athletes would just give up in a competition.

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

And I'm thinking there was some major editing done, because it went from pitch black outside during the beer delivery task to actually being light out. I'm betting they had to do something like drink some of the beer, but maybe the network had to edit it out.

No, they said it just took a long time. It was getting on to midnight when Ericka and Brian left the pit stop. While they were doing some of the beer delivering, you could see the edges of the sky just starting to get light. Assuming this was filmed sometime in the summer, sunrise is sometime between 5:00 and 6:00 in Prague.

I loved the Globetrotters attitude (until the last task) and they were good at some of the tasks, but they were not consistently good racers. Taking the 4 hour penalty?! Seriously?! Might as well say "we quit." Oh wait, that's what they did.

I was really disappointed in them. I wanted Ericka and Brian to leave -- still would like them out -- but after giving up, I have to say that the Globetrotters deserved to be the ones to go.

Originally Posted by OTW

I just don't understand how karma hasn't caught up to the brothers yet. UGH!

I'm the odd man out, I know, but I'll be fine with it if Sam and Dan win. As far as I'm concerned, karma doesn't have anything to catch up with them about. Yeah, they bicker too much (Dan, you do act like a baby -- shut up!), but they are good, strong racers and they've made some very smart choices.

I completely disagree that they have been mean (except to each other when they get stressed out). They haven't burned other teams for the sake of burning them, which would be mean. (I thought the Globetrotters came much closer to being mean the way they trash-talked to Mika at the water slide.) They've made good, strategic decisions to work with other teams sometimes and to look out for themselves all the time.

Dan did exactly the right thing with Big Easy at the Kafka task. Sure they said they'd work together, but Dan figured it out without BE, and he gave him the first letter. That was more than enough. You're racing for the final three -- that's not the time to give it away to the strong competition.

At this point, I'd say Meghan and Cheyne have the best chance of winning and should win. They've consistently been the best racers -- although I find teams where they constantly call each "babe" and "baby" about as annoying as teams that constantly bicker. But I'll be happy as long as it's not Brian and Ericka, who have not been consistently good (but who have consistently annoyed me).


BTW, News report: Filming has started on the next season, and Big Brother 11's Jeff and Jordan were spotted at LAX as a team.

[Shellfish]

I've read that another familiar face in the next race is Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss Teen South Carolina 2007 (and a KD).

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Shellfish

I've read that another familiar face in the next race is Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss Teen South Carolina 2007 (and a KD).

Hope she can find where they're going on a map.

[ASTalumna06]

The more I think about it, the more I question the Globetrotters "We just couldn't do it" elimination.

When Brian came in the room, Big Easy said he had been working on it for two and a half hours (already a long time). And even after the brothers gave him the first letter, he gave up.

He was writing things down at random, and never seemed to think about it logically. And then a team that was so determined to win just.. gave up.

But then again, they couldn't figure out that watch challenge, or the gold one a few episodes back. They were strong physical competitors, but they didn't seem so great with the logic/reasoning parts of the race.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

They were strong physical competitors, but they didn't seem so great with the logic/reasoning parts of the race.

This, in a nutshell.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Shellfish

I've read that another familiar face in the next race is Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss Teen South Carolina 2007 (and a KD).

OMG please send them to The Iraq or South Africa.