A case of "Wet Paint" syndrome...

[missroserose]

Here at J&W, there's a guy named Joe who deals with warehouse issues. On the side he likes to grow things, and apparently nobody told him you can't grow things in Alaska so there are different kinds of tomato plants all over the place, as well as one habanero bush.

Now, I've seen people eat habanero peppers straight before, though they're supposed to be really damn hot. But the ones on the plant looked really ripe and juicy, so I decided to try a small one and see if it was really as bad as everyone said. I picked one off the plant, took a small bite, chewed and swallowed. Painful, but hardly unbearable. So I put the rest in my mouth and chewed.

I think capsicum (the substance in pepper oil that causes the heat) must be an exponential reaction rather than an additive one. Because even though the second bite was only maybe a third again as big as the first one, it felt about fifty times hotter. So I chewed it a couple of times and then swallowed it quickly.

Big mistake.

As bad as it is having your mouth on fire, having a ball of flame bloom in your stomach is about ten times worse - it felt to me like it was going to eat right through my stomach lining. I suddenly had to pee, and take a dump, and throw up all at once (and very nearly did). My face turned bright pink, I was sweating, and I swear there was smoke shooting out my ears. And no matter what I did, it wouldn't go away and just kept getting worse. I seriously wondered for a while if I was going to have an allergic reaction and die.

Until about a minute later, when the chemical reaction ran out of steam and I was back to normal, if a bit shaky and cold from adrenaline withdrawal.

While I can see why some people like eating habaneros straight - there's the high from the adrenaline, and then the relief when the pain is over, both of which are disproportionately pleasant sensations - I think I'm going to be staying away from them from now on. But at least I can say I've tried it, right?

Comments

[borismarkovich.livejournal.com]

Ya know, I'm suddenly reminded about this old saying involving cats and curiosity...

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

The capsicum is also located mostly in the white ribbing and the seeds, so if you nibbled a bit off the tip, there was likely relatively little there.
Should you be in such a situation in the future, remember not to drink water. Bread and milk.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

I actually ran up the stairs (an impressive feat, given my doubled-over state) looking for something along those lines in the company fridge and found neither. Had to suffer through it on my own...but now I can say I did. :)

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

And now you are mighty. (:

[taktukbrightsea.livejournal.com]

Once, when I was bored, I was giving Ian F. a massage, and, right in the middle of it, I said, in the deepest, most gravelly voice I could muster, "You smell like angels ought to smell."

That's the only incredibly odd thing I did in the last month or so. I mean, by my standards.

[errant-variable.livejournal.com]

You remember back when you were @ my place, and I wound up half-collapsed in the bathroom grabbing at my eye even though I had washed copiously beforehand, then you called me a wuss and nibbled a small chunk of yellow pepper, and had a similar reaction?

Yea.

Darwin is watching.