The Scoville Heat Scale

[The Blaatschapen]

The paternal side of my family (who live in Galicia) introduced us to the oddity that are Padron peppers.

It's literally playing Russian Roulette with peppers. Most of them are mild and do jack, but you will get one who will make you ask for a week's worth of water.

Padron are not that spicy. Yummy food.

Hmm, I should go to the tapas place again.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

The paternal side of my family (who live in Galicia) introduced us to the oddity that are Padron peppers.

It's literally playing Russian Roulette with peppers. Most of them are mild and do jack, but you will get one who will make you ask for a week's worth of water.

Padron are not that spicy. Yummy food.

Hmm, I should go to the tapas place again.

Again, the vast majority of them are mild.

However, you will occasionally eat one that is very hot (how hot is also a game of luck).

[San Lumen]

Im not a big fan of spicy food. I think the hottest ive had are Cayenne peppers in a spaghetti sauce at a restaurant and they weren't whole either.

[Huntpublic]

I have a Hispanic mom, so usually, the most spiciness I get in my life is the salty Rice and Beans

[1 Orinia 1]

I rather enjoy spicy food personally.

The hottest pepper I've had (not food in general, just straight up pepper) would be a pickled jalapeno. However I have had foods with more kick.

I do have limits though; I won't have anything with a Scoville rating higher than that of habeneros. Capsaicin, the chemical compound in spicy peppers that gives them their burn, is toxic to mammals; we humans can handle it for the most part fairly well due to being significantly larger than most of the animals the peppers are trying to repel. But even we have limits; hence why hot enough peppers can seriously hurt people (such as ghost chilies and whatever other fiery abominations people have been breeding). While there are peppers hotter than habenero that are safe to eat, I personally don't see a good reason to risk it, nor a good reason to push the boundary further; habenero itself is already pure fire, why do we need a "pepper arms race" for more fire?

[Bombadil]

I rather enjoy spicy food personally.

The hottest pepper I've had (not food in general, just straight up pepper) would be a pickled jalapeno. However I have had foods with more kick.

I do have limits though; I won't have anything with a Scoville rating higher than that of habeneros. Capsaicin, the chemical compound in spicy peppers that gives them their burn, is toxic to mammals; we humans can handle it for the most part fairly well due to being significantly larger than most of the animals the peppers are trying to repel. But even we have limits; hence why hot enough peppers can seriously hurt people (such as ghost chilies and whatever other fiery abominations people have been breeding). While there are peppers hotter than habenero that are safe to eat, I personally don't see a good reason to risk it, nor a good reason to push the boundary further; habenero itself is already pure fire, why do we need a "pepper arms race" for more fire?

I was thinking about this, not your post but the thought of what, exactly, is the reaction that makes chillis so effective. I mean the pain on the tongue is immediate and a really hot chilli shudders the entire body.

In light research..

Our senses of taste and smell are collectively known as the chemosenses; they detect certain chemicals in the environment.

Smell (olfaction) refers to the detection of volatile chemicals in the nasal cavity, whether they enter via the nostrils or via the throat. We don’t know why certain chemicals smell the way they do, so we can’t predict what a new chemical will smell like based on chemical structure. Whoever works that out is almost certainly in the running for a Nobel Prize.

Let's get to it NSG, with our combined brainpower I'm sure we can solve it in.. well.. we'll probably meander a bit, and some bickering.. and someone will start off a pun chain..

The active ingredient in chilli is capsaicin (pronounced kap-say-sin). Capsaicin irritates eyes, lungs and skin, so you need goggles, respirators and HAZMAT suits when dealing with the pure stuff.

It is also potentially lethal. Concentrations of 118.8mg/kg are lethal to 50% of mice.

Who gives a shit about mice, how much do I need to take out a human..

So why is milk, and not water, your go-to pain relief after a spicy curry?

Without getting too into the chemistry, capsaicin has a long hydrocarbon tail, meaning it binds strongly with lipoprotein receptors on the tongue. Capsaicin doesn’t dissolve in water, so water won’t help much, but it does dissolve in alcohol and vegetable oils. Beer is not very alcoholic, so it won’t do much. Stronger drinks may help more, but there’s a limit to how much alcohol you can have.

The traditional cure is mammal’s milk. Milk contains casein, a fat-loving substance that essentially has a detergent effect on the capsaicin, just like soap has on grease. But it has to be mammal’s milk – coconut milk does not contain casein.

The moar you know..

[Auze]

I can't help but feel happy that the state that I live in holds the record of hottest pepper.

[Devi Vytherin]

Assuming similar LD50 rates to mice, you'd need about 10 grams of pure capsaicin to kill 50% of average adult males.
Of course, this is very much a ballpark estimate.

[Bombadil]

Assuming similar LD50 rates to mice, you'd need about 10 grams of pure capsaicin to kill 50% of average adult males.
Of course, this is very much a ballpark estimate.

We'll have to test it on someone.. hmm..

[Farnhamia]

Assuming similar LD50 rates to mice, you'd need about 10 grams of pure capsaicin to kill 50% of average adult males.
Of course, this is very much a ballpark estimate.

We'll have to test it on someone.. hmm..

As some day it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list — I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed — who never would be missed!
There's the pestilential nuisances who write for autographs —
All people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs —
All children who are up in dates, and floor you with 'em flat —
All persons who in shaking hands, shake hands with you like that —
And all third persons who on spoiling tête-á-têtes insist —
They'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!

[Devi Vytherin]

Assuming similar LD50 rates to mice, you'd need about 10 grams of pure capsaicin to kill 50% of average adult males.
Of course, this is very much a ballpark estimate.

We'll have to test it on someone.. hmm..

I wonder why people don't usually perform lethal dose tests on humans. Seems like a good idea, without any sort of ethics problems, after all

[Bombadil]

We'll have to test it on someone.. hmm..

As some day it may happen that a victim must be found,
I've got a little list — I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed — who never would be missed!
There's the pestilential nuisances who write for autographs —
All people who have flabby hands and irritating laughs —
All children who are up in dates, and floor you with 'em flat —
All persons who in shaking hands, shake hands with you like that —
And all third persons who on spoiling tête-á-têtes insist —
They'd none of 'em be missed — they'd none of 'em be missed!

We can exchange lists, I'm sure they'll be filled with the same people, then we can narrow down.

We'll have to test it on someone.. hmm..

I wonder why people don't usually perform lethal dose tests on humans. Seems like a good idea, without any sort of ethics problems, after all

Well quite, people get so hung up on ethics and forget about the bigger picture.

[VoVoDoCo]

Greatest.
Poll.
Ever.

[Farnhamia]

Greatest.
Poll.
Ever.

Bombadil wants to change it.

[New Emeline]

Greatest.
Poll.
Ever.

Bombadil wants to change it.

To what?

[Farnhamia]

Bombadil wants to change it.

To what?

No idea.

[New Emeline]

To what?

No idea.

I wonder what nefarious plans are afoot...

[Zanera]

I wonder why people don't usually perform lethal dose tests on humans. Seems like a good idea, without any sort of ethics problems, after all

Well quite, people get so hung up on ethics and forget about the bigger picture.

Would weaponized capsaicin be against the Geneva Conventions?

[New Emeline]

Well quite, people get so hung up on ethics and forget about the bigger picture.

Would weaponized capsaicin be against the Geneva Conventions?

Depends on how you use it maybe?

[Zanera]

Would weaponized capsaicin be against the Geneva Conventions?

Depends on how you use it maybe?

It might fall under chemical warfare.

[Farnhamia]

Depends on how you use it maybe?

It might fall under chemical warfare.

I read some years ago that the Indian Army had weaponized some sort of ghost pepper into grenades. Is tear gas forbidden under the Conventions? Maybe the rule is that it's okay to use on your own people, e.g., riot control but not on enemy soldiers. I dunno.

[Bombadil]

No idea.

I wonder what nefarious plans are afoot...

Aside from selecting a poster to test what level of capsaicin would kill a human.. no real plans..

For the poll I just wanted to change the first option to read ''my name is Spicy McSpicy of the clan McSpicy, and I cannot die'

It's not a huge bother..

[Len Hyet]

I wonder what nefarious plans are afoot...

Aside from selecting a poster to test what level of capsaicin would kill a human.. no real plans..

For the poll I just wanted to change the first option to read ''my name is Spicy McSpicy of the clan McSpicy, and I cannot die'

It's not a huge bother..

Regret to inform you my name is Spicy McSpicy of Clan McSpicy and I can definitely die from too much spicy.

[Zanera]

It might fall under chemical warfare.

I read some years ago that the Indian Army had weaponized some sort of ghost pepper into grenades. Is tear gas forbidden under the Conventions? Maybe the rule is that it's okay to use on your own people, e.g., riot control but not on enemy soldiers. I dunno.

Geneva says you can't use tear gas in warfare, but it's fine if the police use it.

[New Emeline]

I read some years ago that the Indian Army had weaponized some sort of ghost pepper into grenades. Is tear gas forbidden under the Conventions? Maybe the rule is that it's okay to use on your own people, e.g., riot control but not on enemy soldiers. I dunno.

Geneva says you can't use tear gas in warfare, but it's fine if the police use it.

*insert thinking emoji here*