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  • Ethaniel - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    ... but that thing looks radioactive down here. Greetings from way, way south.
  • ptrinh1979 - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    ...and bring some baking soda with me.
  • RonanH - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    great article, laughed my ass off :)
  • Omega215D - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    I prefer laughing my ass off to burning it off in the morning..,..

    I could probably do the challenge though considering I eat some of the hottest chicken wings and udon available on a regular basis. Actually screw the challenge I just like spicy food.
  • Fx1 - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Not many people realise that the chemical in Chillies are actually toxic and in high doses can actually kill you.

    This is why you get the craps and your body floods your system to remove it. They are also high in Vit C and this is why you conversely think its a good idea to eat them.
  • dgschrei - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    You make it look like Capsaicin (the chemical in chillies) would outright kill you. No matter what chillies you eat it is practically impossible to ingest enough of it, to reach a lethal dose.

    The bigger danger is, that you risk having trouble to breathe if you react VERY strongly to the sensation.

    The whole Vitamin C story on the other hand is outright wrong. Vitamin C tastes like any other acid. And in case of overdose it can also be lethel.

    Still it's way easier and more likely to ingest a lethal dose of salt or even water than that you ever reach a lethal dose of Capsaicin or Vitamin C from eating natural stuff.

    If you go into the refined stuff(you can buy capsaicin in pure crystalline form) that's another story though.
  • Fx1 - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Tell that to the baby that just died when its mother gave it chilli powder to punish it.
  • hpglow - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Where? How much powder? And link because I call BS. The only way I see that happening is if the child were allergic.

    High amounts of spices only give people the craps when the seeds are not disgaurded. Because most of them are not digestable.

    @dgscheri No one can consume enough vitamin C for it to be leathal. There are people who think that it is a cure for cancer and give themselvs IV drips of it and I have read some of them are taking in up to 1 Kg of vitamin C per day with no ill affects. So at what point does it become lethal? I guess if you take a giant solid wedge of it and cram it down a windpipe and choke someone to death.
  • IanCutress - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Technically chocolate can kill you. The lethal dose for an average male is 22kg though.

    Top chillies for sale hit 600k-1.2m on the Scoville scale (~12m is pure Capsaicin), whereas Mace/pepper spray is about 2m on the scale. Typically these are potent enough that a small dab on the tongue is enough to make most people's eyes stream for an hour or so.

    Richard Hammond from Top Gear did it on his Z4M review.
    http://youtu.be/0FTcr2IFeg0?t=5m7s
  • tommo123 - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    hmm, most i've ever had is 10 kilos.
  • Brian23 - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    A friend of mine brought some of those ghost chillies back from India. All I can say is it was the hottest thing I ever ate.
  • r3loaded - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    I note with interest that on Google Maps there's a hospital just down the road from the restaurant :)
  • laytoncy - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Never had ghost peppers but have had scorpion peppers. My friend grew some and dried them and made some "crushed red pepper" if you will out of some of his scorpion peppers. Just a bit of dust on from them sends your taste buds screaming. Heat of course is all relative. I'm sure either ghost or scorpion peppers will make most cry. I like hot stuff as well but I like to taste my food too.
  • laytoncy - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Another thing...with peppers like these if you do buy them and want to eat/serve/cook with them they are serious business. You should make sure and wash your hands (or wear glove) for real. These are not habanero's or jalapeno's.
  • Mumrik - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    As someone who grows my own chilies and love spicy Indian food, I'd love it if these restaurants could drop the hot/very hot/stupidly hot/etc. scales and just write up what chilies they put in there and circa how many to expect in a portion :)

    If that thing there is to indicate there's a whole Bhut Jolokia in that tiny bowl, I'd probably not do it. The presence of a Bhut in the dish means absolutely nothing without an estimate of quantity though.
  • laytoncy - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    That's a great thought and I would love to know what peppers are in what dishes.
  • JomaKern - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Dear Anandtech, you are doomed to suffer human RRoD
  • Romberry - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    ...Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.

    I like hot, but if it requires a waiver, I ain't eatin' it.
  • Donkey2008 - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Crysis benchmarks please. I want to know if the curry will run it.
  • wogzi - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    For those of you who ate the stuff: good luck with it coming out the other way. The only thing that would be of possible help to you now are wet wipes and sympathy ;)
  • Corbeaux - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    While I have been known to cry after having anything hotter than a bird pepper, I know a couple local people who eat whole Moruga Scorpions and smile.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale#Scovil...
  • MrSpadge - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    ... sounds like it would have been enough to order one of these dishes for all of you to share :D
  • JarredWalton - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Oh, that's exactly what we did. I think Brian has before and after pictures of the bowl. Between five people, we might have eaten 10% of the entire dish.
  • Ryan Smith - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Due to unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances, several of our senior editors have suddenly passed away. As a result several new positions have opened up at AnandTech which we will be immediately filling.

    Senior Mobile Editor
    Senior Laptop Editor
    Senior Displays Editor
    CES Babysitter

    Please apply via the usual channels. References are highly advised.

    In all seriousness, you guys are insane. I don't know how on Earth you can stomach this stuff; I for one can't even handle simple Tabasco! I hope everything turns out okay.
  • JomaKern - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Pepto-Bismol to sponsor the next podcast?
  • Arnulf - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    That's because Tabasco tastes like shit (well, vinegar mixed with peppers). Just add some ground (dried) or slcied (fresh) chilli peppers to your food without the vinegar flavor and you'll begin to appreciate it.

    Start with something mild like Jalapeno chilli and work your way up until you no longer feel the taste of the pepper itself. There is no point in going any further from there, just back down a bit and enjoy !
  • geniekid - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Were they unforeseen circumstances? Or did you have to SIGN A GOD DAMNED WAIVER before eating the Death Chili?

    Also, I wonder if your staff is going through similar symptoms to the ingestion of Guatemalan Insanity Peppers? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOQAyFSon-Q
  • santeana - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    LMAO!! I laughed so damn hard reading this! Thanks for making my day! :)
  • mayankleoboy1 - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Was it hotter than the Gtx480 or the Fx8150 ?

    On another note, keep these posts coming :)
  • apexjr - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    I to have been through the challenge of deathly hot food. The morning after? If you are lucky to have lasted that long, it took me only a few hours to begin the release of fire & death from below.

    And yes, after such an event in your life the question of 'Is that spicy?' seems but a joke to those who have walked through the fires themselves.
  • nickgully - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    I expected at least one graph of pain vs. time.
  • Mathos - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Drink some milk when you eat stuff like that. It's the only thing that can break down the pepper seed oil and take the burn out.......All I can say is, I feel sorry for ya the next time ya gotta drop a load LOL.
  • Tegeril - Sunday, January 20, 2013 - link

    A mango lassi is approximately 25% milk and 50% yogurt. I don't think it made much difference.
  • A Geologist - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    Watching this all go down on Brian's twitter feed gave me a good laugh. Hope you guys aren't in too much pain and everybody makes a speedy recovery.

    Now to let my inner nerd out, your mission for today is to find out if somebody at CES has invented a capsaicin breathalyser test, so you can quantify the burn and maybe put up some benchmarks on your new 'Death Curry' feature.
  • pranavsg07 - Friday, January 11, 2013 - link

    I wonder what will happen if someone drank it like a glass of water. Maybe a big gulp. 'It's good, OMG it's burning, help me, hueheuhue, aaahhhhhh, sluurp sluuurp, water...ice cream...'
  • John R Shirley - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link

    Capsicum is a skin irritant, not a poison. The reason it moves quickly through your eliminative system is it causes movement of intestinal walls...because they're irritated. Birds are immune.

    Wish I'd had some, instead of the food poisoning I got in Vegas Thursday! Would've been over in 4 hrs.
  • kewlbug - Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - link

    I did the challenge last week. so I'm number 14 or 15 now on the board. Pounded it in maybe 2 minutes. The amount of pain and throwing up is not worth a $50 gift card!!

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