Uncomfortably Numb is a recurring endurance challenge in Survivor. The challenge debuted in Survivor: San Juan del Sur and has since re-appeared in Kaôh Rōng, David vs. Goliath, Survivor 41, Survivor 42, and Survivor 46.
Rules[]
Each person will balance their feet on a very narrow perch adjusted for their height while holding a handle above their head. If at any point, they let go of the handle or a foot comes off the perch, they are out of the challenge. The last person left standing wins.
In Survivor 41, in order to increase the difficulty of the challenge, there was an additional rule that the person's back must maintain contact with the stand.[1]
History[]
United States[]
The challenge debuted as the final nine Immunity Challenge in San Juan del Sur. In addition to staying on the perch, host Jeff Probst also tempted castaways throughout the challenge to step down in exchange for food. After over three hours, the challenge came down to Natalie Anderson and Reed Kelly. Realizing that she was not going to be able to outlast Reed, Natalie bargained for a large platter of food from Jeff before stepping down, giving Reed immunity.
The challenge re-appeared in Kaôh Rōng as the final ten Immunity Challenge. Early on, Jeff Probst announced that he would only offer food at one point in the challenge, causing several castaways to drop out and take the large platter of food. Eventually, the challenge came down to Cydney Gillon and Tai Trang. After over 40 minutes, Cydney dropped and Tai won immunity.
The challenge appeared in David vs. Goliath, once again as the final ten Immunity Challenge. Before the challenge, Jeff Probst offered the castaways a large plate of nachos, margaritas, and beer in exchange for not competing in the challenge. Angelina Keeley, Carl Boudreaux, and Nick Wilson decided to opt out and take the plate of nachos. After over five and a half hours, the challenge came down to Alec Merlino and Christian Hubicki, the latter of whom employed the strategy of irritating Alec with a prolonged monologue. Despite desperately needing immunity, Alec could not hold on, allowing Christian to win immunity.
The challenge appeared in Survivor 41 as an Immunity Challenge where the Viakana tribe was divided into two teams of five for a Split Tribal Council that evening. The last person standing on each team would win immunity, and the last person standing overall would win their team reward and the right to vote second. After over 10 minutes, Erika Casupanan beat out Naseer Muttalif to win immunity on the yellow team, but immediately stepped down afterwards, giving reward to the blue team. Xander Hastings then outlasted Deshawn Radden after 33 minutes to win immunity on the blue team.
In Survivor 42, the challenge appeared as the final seven Immunity Challenge in conjunction with the Do or Die twist. The Kula Kula tribe was allowed to sit out to avoid being subjected to a potentially game-ending gamble at Tribal Council; the entire tribe opted out, sans Jonathan Young and Lindsay Dolashewich. After around 12 minutes, Lindsay fell from her perch, giving Jonathan immunity and leaving her fate up in the air at Tribal Council.
The challenge reappeared in Survivor 46 as the final stage of the Stage Fright challenge, to which Charlie Davis, Hunter McKnight, and Maria Shrime Gonzalez advanced after winning the first two stages of the challenge. Maria stepped down from her perch during the first few minutes, resulting in a battle between Charlie and Hunter that ultimately ended when Hunter stepped down from his perch, allowing Charlie to win immunity.
Australia[]
The challenge appeared as the Final Immunity Challenge of Heroes v Villains. Set against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean, the final four stood on a perch with their hands maintaining contact with a handle behind their back at all times. At regular intervals, a winch will be turned, pushing a set of spikes deeper and deeper into the contestants' backs. The challenge came down to a showdown between Liz Parnov and Matt Sharp, both of whom challenged Jonathan LaPaglia to give the winch one final crank, leaving both of them to brave the full 32 cm (12.6 inches) of spikes. After 4 hours and 10 minutes, Matt let go of the handle, giving Liz the win.
France[]
Quebec[]
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan del Sur "This Is Where We Build Trust" |
Individual Immunity |  Reed Kelly | |
| Kaôh Rōng "The Jocks vs. the Pretty People" |
Individual Immunity |  Tai Trang | |
| David vs. Goliath "Tribal Lines Are Blurred" |
Individual Immunity |  Christian Hubicki | |
| Survivor 41 "Who's Who in the Zoo" |
Individual Immunity |  Erika Casupanan |
 Xander Hastings |
| Team Reward |     Danny, Deshawn, Evvie, Liana, Xander | ||
| Survivor 42 "Battle Royale" |
Individual Immunity |  Jonathan Young | |
| Survivor 46 "Spicy Jeff" |
Individual Immunity |  Charlie Davis | |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Heroes v Villains Episode 24 |
Individual Immunity (Final Immunity) |
 Liz Parnov |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palawan Episode 10 |
Individual Immunity |  Jade Handi | |
| La Revanche des Héros Episode 1 |
Sudden-Death Challenge | None There is no winner, the challenge stops when a castaway falls first. Fabienne Lefebvre-Trehoux is eliminated. | |
| Les 4 Terres Episode 5 |
Individual Reward |  Alix Noblat |
 Bertrand-Kamal Loudrhiri |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor Québec (2024) Episode 49 |
Individual Immunity |  Kassandre Bastarache |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This challenge's name is a reference to the song Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.
- All six times this challenge appeared:
- It was used as an individual Immunity Challenge.
- A man won the challenge.
- Despite food being offered each of the first four times this challenge appeared, it has been done a different way each time:
- In San Juan del Sur, host Jeff Probst tempted the castaways with food throughout the challenge.
- In Kaôh Rōng, Probst announced that he would only tempt the castaways with food once at an early point in the challenge.
- In David vs. Goliath, Probst offered food to the castaways before the challenge, provided that they sit out and give up their shot at immunity.
- Though no food temptations were offered in Survivor 41, food was provided as a team reward to be claimed following the challenge.
- Survivor 42 is the first time that no food was offered in any form during the challenge. Instead, a disincentive in the form of the Do or Die twist was introduced to discourage players from competing in the challenge.
- Erika Casupanan is the only woman to win this challenge individually.
References[]