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Fear Factor Episode 427 Original Airdate: March 15, 2004

Joe and the six players met below a Plexiglas box that ominously dangled 100 feet above the ground. For their first stunt, players would have to think inside the box as they worked to stay within the phone booth-sized container for as long as possible after the floor dropped out from under them. To make the stunt worthy of Fear Factor, players would be drenched in a continual rain of ice-cold water as the box spun faster and faster. Eventually, freezing water and exhausted leg muscles would prove too much and players would fall through the open floor. The two men and two women who held out the longest would move on while the other two players would be sent packing.

Greg, who was wearing extra-tight pants for his girlfriend (and certainly not for the rest of us), was up first. Once inside the box, Greg locked himself into position with his legs stretched out to the corners. The bottom of the box dropped out and Joe and the other five players waited. And waited. And waited. Greg was wedged in with a Zen-like calm for nearly 18 minutes! At exactly 17:55, his legs finally gave out and he dropped from the box, stopping the clock. No doubt about it, Greg had set the bar high. Next up was Kit, a professional kickboxer and man full of… confidence. As soon as the cold water started pouring, Kit became one unhappy camper. After 8:53.1, Kit couldn't take the cold and he dropped from the box. Last up for the men was Derek, a hair stylist from Las Vegas. Derek had a difficult time even before the clock started. He couldn't wedge himself into a position above the box floor, which made Kit happy. Finally, Derek secured himself into place and the clock began. Doused with water in the spinning box, Derek held on. As the clock ticked away, Kit look nervous. Finally, with gritted teeth, Derek passed 8:53.1, beating Kit's time. The Vegas hair stylist had just knocked out the champion kickboxer! Kit was disappointed as he took the long walk of shame home.

Stacy, another hair stylist, went first for the women. Like Derek, Stacy also had a hard time finding an initial position above the box floor and, for a moment, it looked like she might not even be able to compete in the stunt. But Stacy didn't give up and she finally got into position. Stacy could only hold on for a brief while and finished with a time of just 1:23.1. Susan worried that she was too short and might not be able to wedge herself in the box well. But once inside, she quickly found a good position and held it for over 1:23.1, moving on to the next round. Kasey, who claimed to be the biggest Fear Factor fan around, went next. Kasey took a different approach than all of the other players. Instead of wedging her feet into the box corners, she positioned her feet directly in front of her. Susan commented that this strategy was not going to work. But Susan was wrong and Kasey bested the time of 1:23.1, eliminating Stacy in the process.

In a big switch, Joe and the four remaining players showed up at an elegant restaurant, all dressed in their formal best. There was fine crystal on the table - and live snails on the menu. The players would have to eat the live snails as quickly as possible. The man and woman who ate the most snails (up to twelve) the fastest, would move on to the finals. The other two players would be eliminated. Kasey was the first to dine. She didn't look too pleased, but dug in anyway. She coughed after eating almost every snail, but still managed a decent pace. Susan, on the other hand, looked completely grossed out - and she hadn't even touched a single snail yet. On snail number ten, Kasey was visibly shaking, but she forged on. Looking like she was ready to throw up, Kasey finished snail number twelve in 2:32.6. Susan admitted that she had her doubts about doing this stunt. And after fighting to get the first snail down, she threatened to quit. But Joe urged her on. Finally, after just four snails, Susan spit out the half-chewed mush in her mouth and officially called it quits. Kasey had won her spot in the finals. Derek claimed that he had a secret weapon: he was a self-proclaimed "sick bastard" who could eat anything. True to his reputation, Derek popped those snails into his mouth like candy - slimy, crunchy, still-wiggling candy. He got a great rhythm going and finished with an impressive 1:08.2. But Greg looked unimpressed. He stepped up and inhaled the snails in a blistering 44.1 seconds, knocking Derek out of the competition and putting himself into the finals.

The two remaining players met Joe on a lonely stretch of highway. For the last stunt, each player would be inside a car positioned inside a semi truck, barreling down the road. When the semi passed a starting line, a green light inside the truck would go on. The player would then try up to three different keys to start the car. Once the car was started, the player would gun it, sending the car bursting through the back door of the truck in a hail of flames and landing onto the pavement below. The player that got the car closest to the starting line would be the winner. Kasey won the coin toss and elected to have Greg go first. Inside the car, Greg remained calm and when the green light went on, he tried the first key and it worked! The engine roared to life and Greg threw the car into gear, hit the gas and headed for the back door of the truck. Greg burst through the back door in a flurry of smoke and sparks. His car landed so hard on the ground that his back window shattered and one of the axles nearly broke off. Greg's car rolled backwards and finally stopped. Although Greg found the correct key on the first try, he didn't use his brakes and rolled away from the finish line before his car came to a stop. Kasey planned to use this knowledge to her advantage, but admitted that she had to get the right key on the first try in order to win. Inside the car, Kasey saw the light turn green and tried the first key. It worked! She gunned the engine and tore through the back door of the truck, slamming hard onto the pavement. She applied the brakes and her car held steady, right where she landed. It wasn't even close. Kasey's car was much nearer to the starting line than Greg's. She did it. Kasey had just looked fear in the eye and won $50,000!