Did Shane's magic number mean nothing?

Q: Previously on ‘The Amazing Race,’ the hippies, and Ray and Yolanda both finished last during a non elimination leg and were forced to give up everything but the clothes on their backs - neither team had winter clothing on. How and why did they get winter clothing during the leg through Alaska?    —Peter

A: While it would have made great TV to watch contestants freeze to death, Ray and Yolanda most likely received their coats from either the production or from a task, at least judging by what's happened in the past. CBS did not respond to our query by press time, but we can make an educated guess based on past seasons.

On "The Amazing Race 5," for example, racers Colin and Christie noted in an interview with TV Guide that a number of tasks were cut from the final show, including an excursion to multiple stores in Banff, where they picked up clothing for the cold weather. It's likely that this season's players had a similar task, or perhaps their cars had cold weather gear inside.

According to the TARflies Times FAQ, an excellent resource for "Amazing Race"-related information, during other seasons, "production has been known to give the Racers cold-weather gear in Alaska (TAR1 and TAR2), Canada (TAR5), and Iceland (TAR6)." However, the site notes that "racers had to bring their own cold-weather gear for the Italian Alps (TAR4). So it depends, we guess."    —A.D.

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is MSNBC.com's Television Editor. Andy Dehnart is a writer and teacher who publishes reality blurred, a daily summary of reality TV news.

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