Hot Stuff!!!
by Michael
The world’s hottest chile pepper has just been discovered! It is called Bhut Jolokia which means ghost pepper. It grows in Assam India. It is here Dr. Bosland, Director of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico University, ran an experiement testing just how hot this chile pepper was. It measured at 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units - this is twice the amount of the previous hottest chile pepper. What makes a Chile pepper “hot” is the amount and concentration of capasaicinoids. Capasaicinoids have many uses and are active ingredients in some products like tear gas. What would be the usefulness of a pepper this hot?
October 31st, 2007 at 12:27 pm
maybe a pepper that hot could be used for weapons like acidic stuff, or defence things like pepper spray, except that might be a little too dangerous, because that might blind someone. I’m not quite sure that you could ever find a use for a pepper thata hot, but im sure with all the technology out there now that we could find SOMETHING. I found a website (actually it was on the Penn State website) on the top agricultural peppers this year, they may not be the hottest, but they do have some really cool names. For example: North Star, Valencia, and Super Chili. Here’s the sight, http://aginfo.psu.edu/News/march99/toppepper.html, you should check it out.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:26 pm
That is really cool. I have aalways liked peppers. I dont know if i would like one that hot. I mean 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units. That is twice as many as the second hottest chile pepper. Lauren tha is a good use of the hootest pepper. Weapons like acidic stuff would be a good idea. Another use could be heated foods up. Maybe if you had a cold foood the pepper could heat it up. It might not taste too good on everything. Thats just a thought.
October 31st, 2007 at 3:12 pm
WOW! That was a really interesting site lauren! I liked how all of the peppers were kind of given their own stats. I researched uses of peppers on the internet and found an interesting story. Farmers in Zimbabwe line the outsides of fields with peppers to keep elephants from coming in and trampling crops. Apparently elephants do not like the smell. Here is the link for the full story.
October 31st, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Jake, that’s hilarious!
Go here to watch a video of a woman who can eat 60 of these in two minutes!!!
http://scienceblogs.com/corpuscallosum/2007/08/bhut_jolokia_update.php
Read the comments below the blog post to find out how this woman probably does this.
October 31st, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I can’t believe that woman ate 60 of those in only 2 minutes and her tongue didn’t fall off!! Mine totally would; I cannot do spicy. Would it be possible to use these peppers as a form of heat instead of fires? Could we maybe use it to relieve pain instead of hot pads and compresses? I’m kind of confused; what exactly is a capsaisinoid?? Could we maybe use a large amount of the pepper juice to melt things (is it THAT hot?)? And why do they call it the Ghost Pepper? I think it should be called the Death By Spice pepper
I just thought of something else!! If peppers discourage elephants from coming around, do you think it would be effective in discouraging coyotes from coming around?? It would be a more humane way. That pepper is really red; is it those capsaisinoids that give the pepper its color and shape? Great post Michael; positively HOT!! 
October 31st, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I just looked it up online!! They call it the Ghost Pepper because it is said to be so hot it drives away spirits and ghosts. I also figured out that a capsaicinoid is an organic compound that gives chili peppers their heat. The hottest one is called capcaicin, and it is so hot it LITERALLY takes your breath away (I’m serious it really does). Another fun fact is that dairy, especially milk, is really good for stopping the burning sensation on your tongue. Bonus question for you: Do you like spicy stuff?
October 31st, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Evelyn, to the question in your second comment: NO! NO! NO! I can’t handle ANYTHING spicy. At least the peppers can keep the elephants away from crops and stuff. Can any kind of chili peppers be used or is it one specific kind? I couldn’t find anything that said, but I did find this website that expands a bit on the elephant thing: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060918-elephants-chili.html
The only thing that I can think of for a use for the world’s hottest chili pepper would be a really nasty dare or prank. I hope these things are hard enough to get, so that pranks and dares involving these peppers don’t happen too much.
I can’t believe that lady ate SIXTY of the world’s HOTTEST chili peppers, and then she rubbed them in her eyes!?! I’d never do that, I don’t think it’s physically possible for me to that. I didn’t think it was physically possible for ANYONE to do that.
Wow, Michael, awesome post!
October 31st, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Read my comment above! I mention where to look to find out how the woman was able to eat all of those peppers!
October 31st, 2007 at 8:01 pm
That’s cool, I didn’t know there were things such as capsaicin receptors. I must have been born with too many!
October 31st, 2007 at 9:05 pm
That is cool to know Jake. I had no idea that elephants were not attracted to that smell, but besides that I found some other uses of chili peppers throughout history. The pre-Columbian Indians used chili peppers as a medicine, as a punishment for childrenand as a tear gas during warfare. And today chili peppers are sometimes used as a sore throat cure, as a food preservative because of its strong antioxidant properties, as a safe food-coloring, and as a flavoring for some food products.
October 31st, 2007 at 10:23 pm
whoa those peppers must be hot. i cant believe that woman was rubbing them on her eyes. i would have started crying if i did that. i love spicy food but that is a little extreme. i think it is funny that elephants dont like the smell of peppers. i wondes if any other anlmals dont like them.alex, it is wierd that hot chollie peppers are used as a store throat cure. you would think it would make it worse.
October 31st, 2007 at 10:24 pm
i think this pepper could be used to add some great flevoring to foods and encourage daring people to eat the foods it was put into.
October 31st, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I asked my dad about Capsaicin receptors. (He is a neurologist.) He told me that when you have an injury, your body produces substance P, which attaches to the end of your nerves. Your nerves then send messages to your brain, which makes you feel pain. In this case, pain is a good thing- it lets you know that something is wrong with you. Capsaicinoids also attach themselves to these nerves, giving you the same sensation of pain, but not doing any damage to your body. Great post, Michael. : )
October 31st, 2007 at 11:21 pm
That is just amazing that a woman can eat that many peppers that quickly. That is cool to know that she probably cant tell the effects of spicy foods. I am not one that really likes spicy foods, so for somebody to do that, it is just awesome. Personally I don’t know what these peppers could be used for, but for entertainment. Lauren had some pretty cool ideas though.
November 1st, 2007 at 4:25 pm
jeez those peppers must be hot. i looked at that video of the lady that can eat 60 of those peppers and i never realized that people are born with some “defect” and they can’t tastes the hottness of the peppers. Maybe the peppers could be used for medicine? or fighting off some sorts of bacteria.
November 1st, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Wow, that is one hot pepper they’ve got there! People could use this to make new foods of course. They could also put it into tear gas or mace. I don’t know if they use peppers in that stuff hah but, it could be a possible use right?
November 1st, 2007 at 7:48 pm
That is pretty hot! I guess it could be used in foods, but only in small amounts since it can be eaten. However, it seems like it would work better in some kind of acidic solution or dissolving agent. There is a restaurant that someone told me about, it may have been Jake, where they make you sign a release form before trying a pepper sauce of sorts! Michael, do you know how long ago the previous record holder was found? In other words, how long was its reign as hottest pepper?
November 1st, 2007 at 8:18 pm
That woman who can eat 60 of those peppers in 2 minutes is amazing. I would never be able to do that, since I really don’t like spicy food that much. I like Lauren’s ideas alot. I think Mary Claire’s idea that it could be used for medicince is good too. Who knows, maybe it’s a cure for cancer!
November 1st, 2007 at 8:20 pm
first off it makes great spices and pranks (just kidding). They could be useful for killing bacteries or germs. They probably wouldnt like the heat and probably wouldnt stand it
November 1st, 2007 at 9:25 pm
I really can’t say that I find much of a use for a really hot chile pepper, except maybe to give my uncle something hot enough to actually make him need water. Maybe you could use one to make some sort of weapon of mass destruction like some sort of man-made acid rain or something. Or mabye it could be used in parrot foods, they like spicy stuff. what was the old hottest chile pepper? I should know this, living in a pepper-aholic family, but I can’t remember.
November 1st, 2007 at 9:40 pm
After reading the post I wanted to find out what the hottest pepper was in the world. It is the tiny TepIn pepper in Mexico. Here is a great link to learn more about this mexican scorcher. See http://www.batnet.com/~rwc-seed/Pepper.worlds.hottest.html
November 1st, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I am a big fan of spicy food but I think you guys are right; that is a little extreme. I thought of another use for the peppers, though. If you have a stuffy nose, you can eat something spicy to take the sniffles away. I do that with tobasco sauce. If you ever have a cold, and don’t want to deal with it, try some spicy food. (P.S. If you want to try something really spicy, try indian food. I know it sounds gross, but give it a shot.)
November 1st, 2007 at 10:27 pm
After reading this it really made me want to go and find out if peppers really could be used for anything. I found this site that said that this pepper is used to cure stomach problems and a way to fight the summer heat in India. I thought that that was really neat. I know that I would never eat the world’s hottest pepper to cure a stomach problem! Here is the site…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20058096/
November 1st, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Woah i had no idea that a pepper could be that hott. i love spicy food but i don’t know if i would try that pepper. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried to eat the whole pepper. I remember reading somewhere that spicy smells help some animals with strong noses stay away from certain areas. Maybe instead of attempting to hurt the animal the spicy-ness of the smell will help keep them away, that way neither gets hurt. Great post!
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:41 pm
WOW, that’s one hot hot hot pepper! i cannot believe that that woman could eat a whole 60 in 2 minutes, my mouth would have fallen off and i would’ve been crying my eyes out if i rubbed that stuff in my eyes! The ideas that lauren and mary-claire suggested are really useful, medicine and food flavoring, that would be cool. the fact that Jake pointed out about the elephants was really neat, that way they keep their crops without hurting the animals! Great post!
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:24 am
There prabably could be lots of uses for this new level of chile pepper. One use I can think of is they might be able to use it in pepper gas. Anyways i saw the viedo that was INSANE!! I cant believe that she would willing do that. I could not even eat half of one let alone 60!
November 3rd, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Wow, I can’t even imagine how that pepper would taste! It is cool that there are so many different flavors and tastes in the world. That pepper is just naturally that hot, no artificial flavoring added! I found a website about this pepper that said there is a 17-month old toddler who is addicted to the pepper and can eat about 50 at a time!
November 4th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
That pepper must be really crazy to eat. I couldnt imagine eating something that hot. I looked at the link on Miss Bakers comment, thats crazy that the lady can eat so many of them so quickly. I also didnt know that people could actually be born without certain taste receptors. As for uses i cant think of any except for maybe medicine uses. Cool post michael
November 4th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Wow !! This is really an amazing blog. I have learned so so so much. Like that when I go to Africa I can protect crops from elephants with the worlds hottest pepper, Bhut Joloki. Also, I can make a tear gas from this peper, that a women in India can eat 60 of these peppers in 2 minuetes, who made it into the Guinessus World Reecord Book, doctors can use them to see if someone can feel pain without damaging aomeone. That Pre-Columbian Indians used these peppers in warfare, punishment and cure illnesses. Also they are so hot that they can preserve food. Then they may be able to ward off evil spirits and ghosts and cure the sniffles. I will have to keep these things around when my sister comes over. Also when I get the sniffles.Hee Hee. I wonder if they would wear down your taste buds after a while?Thanks a lot evryone this has turned out to be the best blog yet. I think this should be an example for next years freshmen class.
November 4th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
wow i would never eat a chili pepper. If it is that hot just amigine what it could be like if you put in pepper spray to protect yourself that could be considered a deadly weapon if it was used. I looked up how can not benifit you and eating many chili peppers can trigger stomach cancer. Researchers have said when testing it on mice it will help people who are considered obese loose weight.
By the Jennifer yes you are right if there is a strong smell take for example that hottest chili pepper and a dog sniffs the dog can loose its sense of smell for a while. If you have read Number the Stars they used this method to keep the Jews from caught leaving the germany or any country that was occupied by the Nazi’s.
November 5th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Wow that’s awesome that anything could be that spicy. I personally would love to try one of them one day. I can’t believe anyone would be able to eat 60 of them that fast though. But i was wondering how this Bhut Jolokia pepper compares to a regular pepper that we would eat? in Scoville Heat Units
November 5th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
GEEEEEEEEEEZZZZEEEEEE! I had no idea that there were peppers that HOT! I dont know how that lady could eat 60 of those things in two minutes! I wonder what makes these certain peppers just grow in India? This article really makes you think what else we have not discovered yet in our world! It also made me think about all of the things that we are not discovering as we ruin the Rain Forests in South America!! Great article Michael!
November 7th, 2007 at 7:39 am
That is one hot pepper. I’m not a fan of spicy stuff, so I don’t think I ever want to try one of those. I think it would be put to good use as food ingredients for people who like spicy things. Like Hank said, it is really cool that we keep finding new stuff like this, but htink about the new discoveries we are losing because of the habitats we are destroying.The numbers are probably huge.Good job Michael.
November 7th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Thats a really hot pepper! I can’t believe that there is a pepper that hot. Like Will, i dont eat that much spicy stuff either. Thats a funny use Jake. I bet people that like spicy things would love to hear about that. I love that were discovering new things that weve never noticed before! Good job micheal that was really interesting!
November 8th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
thats amazing! how was it just now discovered and i cant imagine what kind of (potent) uses it could have. People could use it from anything from cooking to weapons. I bet it could make a big difference in things like self defense and modern special weaponry. Its odd to think that a food can be used as a weapon…. Cool post michael
November 10th, 2007 at 11:04 am
I find it amazing that a pepper that hot was found. I mean it is double the hotness of the previous one. I find it hard to believe that a woman ate 60 of them in two minute. The video just is not enough evidence. I probably would die before I ate one. This is actually not just cool, but it can be very useful. It would really help with cooking. I think Steven had a good idea in that it could be used for special weaponry. This could be a really big export product for Assam, India, since it is the only place it grows! This could really bring in a lot of money to them if people start demanding them for certain uses.
November 19th, 2007 at 12:39 am
In the video that Miss Baker poster on her comment about the lady eating 20 peppers, i noticed that the lady was from India. In India, almost all their foods are super spicy and Indians are use to spicy food so i think that is why that lady was able to eat so many peppers. When I was little, my neighbors were Indian and they babysat me all the time. They would always feed me food from their culture which was extremely spicy and soon i fell in love with spicy things. Now that i am older, i am use to spicy foods just like how most Indian people are. This was an awesome blog. Thanks!!
November 20th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
A pepper of this sort could be used for a LOT of stuff. One such use includes using it to relieve the symptoms of hypothermia like in this article:
http://www.jcrowsmarketplace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=579
You also might be able to derive a serum such as the Cayenne Pepper Tincture which includes a lot of uses:
http://healingtools.tripod.com/cayemerg.html