Survivor has very clear rules about what castaways are allowed and not allowed to bring with them on the island, but that doesn’t mean players don’t still smuggle in contraband. The most common way to try and get stuff in is by sewing prohibited items into the lining of clothing, but apparently, at least one contestant used tampons to successfully break the rules.
Survivor legend Francesca Hogi, the only castaway in the history of the show to be voted out first on two different occasions, revealed this week that her scheme to sneak in floss and allergy pills was a big success. Both of those items are prohibited, but in a sneaky move, she hid them inside of tampons and then resealed the wrappers. It worked like a charm, except that for months after she got voted out, she kept opening tampons and discovering they were the ones she had previously doctored.
Here’s what she had to say about the plot in a social post on Threads…
My second season of Survivor I smuggled unspooled floss and allergy pills (prohibited items) inside of tampons (permitted items). I did such a good job of resealing the tampon wrappers I couldn’t tell them apart. For months afterwards, every now and again I’d go to put in a tampon and an allergy pill and floss would fall out.
Francesca is a good example of how you can carve out a well-remembered legacy on Survivor without winning the game or even making a deep run. The attorney appeared on both Redemption Island and Caramoan, but she was voted out at the first available opportunity both times. Each torch snuffing was related to an ongoing, multi-season feud with the Specialist Phillip Sheppard, and their wild interactions are still frequently referenced by hardcore fans to this day.
Obviously I’m not saying Francesca is remembered on that top tier level with the most famous winners like Boston Rob, Sandra, Tony and Parvati. She’s not even on that next level of beloved losers who made it deep into multiple seasons like Cirie, Colby, Coach, Ozzy, Amanda Kimmel and Russell Hantz. She is, however, part of an elite group of pre-merge characters who made a lasting impression like J’Tia, Billy Garcia, Cao Boi, Wendy and more recently, Bhanu and Sai.
Francesca’s amusing post ran around the Survivor community pretty quickly, and the downside was misinterpreted by some. More specifically, the part about the floss and pills falling out. She hilariously circled back to clarify where exactly they were falling out from.
I feel I should clarify. They’d fall out of the tampon applicator (where they were stashed) not my vagina.
I’m not sure we’ll ever see Francesca again on Survivor, but that has nothing to do with her breaking the rules, as contestants break rules all the time. She was allegedly one of the hundred or so former players who got a phone call ahead of 50, but she reportedly said she wasn’t interested in returning to the island.
I doubt she would have been cast on such a monumental season, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't have a good shot with the right theme. We know we're getting another returnee season sooner rather than later. If the theme is players who didn’t make the merge, she’s an absolute must cast. Fingers crossed that happens, though if it does, she’ll probably need to find a new way to sneak in her allergy pills.
