Indian Military Hopes to Weaponize the Searing "Ghost Pepper" 267
coondoggie writes "The military in India is looking to weaponize the world's hottest chili, the bhut jolokia or 'ghost pepper,' according to a number of news outlets. The Bhut Jolokia chili pepper from Assam, India is no ordinary pepper. In tests first conducted by the New Mexico State University in 2008 and subsequently confirmed by Guinness World records and others, the Bhut Jolokia reached over one million Scoville heat units, while the next hottest, the Red Savina Habenero, clocks in at a mere 577,000. Scoville units are a universally accepted measure of chili hotness."
Four Horsemen burger of San Antonio, TX (Score:5, Informative)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kO7MlHgJLA
Hopefully that's the right link.
There's a burger in TX that uses this pepper called the Four Horsemen Burger. As of the taping of this episode of Man Vs Food, only three people had managed to finish one in 25 minutes, with an additional 5 minutes of waiting without liquids. The host of the show became number 4, though it looked like he wasn't going to get past even the first bite.
Isn't that illegal (internationally) if a weapon causes this much pain and suffering?
Funny videos (Score:4, Informative)
Eating raw Jolokia is a source of some mildly entertaining videos. [youtube.com]
Re:Tastes great (Score:3, Informative)
That might work for preventing the spread, but the way that capsascin(sp) works is by activating all the receptors on the nerve. That's where the "heat" comes from, sensory overload.
Re:Tastes great (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Four Horsemen burger of San Antonio, TX (Score:3, Informative)
Considering that Pepper spray is considered a chemical weapon and is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention (which India signed & ratified). I'd assume that this would fall under the same ban.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray [wikipedia.org]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_Weapons_Convention [wikipedia.org]
Re:Tastes great (Score:3, Informative)
Back when I was working in New Mexico, there was a fair in Taos. One of the guys there was selling Dave's hot sauces, including their new ghost pepper variety. I bought the "temporary insanity" (57,000 scoville units according to this [gourmetmikes.com]), and it's too hot for me except small doses. About a year later, the bottle is still mostly full.
My roommate, who has a much higher threshold for spicy food than anyone I've ever met, brought the newly unveiled ghost pepper brand (2.5 million scoville units, according to the bottle, if memory serves).
The dealer gave us a taste of it (a tiny drop on the tip of a toothpick) and my god did it burn.
The guy who sold it to us told us a few interesting things about it: (1) It instantly blisters skin on contact (2) it's very expensive to buy over the internet because it has to be shipped as a hazardous materiel. (3) Not only is it good for eating, but it works great as a caustic agent for degreasing driveways, engines, etc.
In short - ghost peppers are not something you play around with.
Re:Not the Next Hottest (Score:5, Informative)
Not military grade... (Score:2, Informative)
I can't wait to taste this in a batch of chili.
Re:Tastes great (Score:3, Informative)
Re:OK ... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Tastes great (Score:5, Informative)
Technically correct, but... (Score:5, Informative)
Modern expressions of pungency in terms of Scoville units set pure capsaicin at either 15,000,000 or 16,000,000, and use HPLC to establish concentration of same (and related compounds). A Scoville rating is then set based on the concentration(s) measured.
So, knowing the reference standard, the measurements are actually quite objective.
Nobody, as far as I know, uses taste testers anymore.
Re:Tastes great (Score:4, Informative)
(1) It instantly blisters skin on contact
(3) Not only is it good for eating...
I'm having a hard time reconciling the first clause of fact #3 with fact #1.
That's because "Fact" 1 isn't.
I've been handling all sorts of hot peppers for many years, and the particularly hot ones are very capable of producing a burning sensation on the skin just like in your mouth. And Rubbing your eyes inadvertently will ruin your evening, there is no doubt. But blistering? I sup[pose it could happen if you had an allergic reaction, but that's not even remotely going to be a common thing.
It's been my experience that dealers and vendors are really in to hyping the dangers of the sauces that are typically named "Loco", Death" and "Devil" based scary named variations.. And well they should, it's really good for business, and selling product is what they do.
Re:Tastes great (Score:5, Informative)
The guy who sold it to us told us a few interesting things about it: (1) It instantly blisters skin on contact (2) it's very expensive to buy over the internet because it has to be shipped as a hazardous materiel. (3) Not only is it good for eating, but it works great as a caustic agent for degreasing driveways, engines, etc.
the guy who sold it was ragingly full of shit.
I have let it sit on my skin for 20 minutes to prove it's a fake claim... Won $100.00 in the office after that and eating a taco with it on it. (they dont understand that sour cream really kills it's burn)
It's not acid, it dont burn the skin and is worthless for degreasing driveways.
Re:Cross-culinary comparison (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Is this needed? (Score:3, Informative)
(which I had to sign a waiver to purchase)
That's just for marketing purposes, not to satisfy any legal requirement.
Re:Pepper spray is torturous. (Score:2, Informative)
If used in war, it is actually a war crime, since it's a chemical weapon banned under the chemical weapon convention.
Is it? I'm reading the Chemical Weapons Convention right now, and I don't see any capsaicin-based compounds listed in Schedule I, II, or III.
There are Chemical Weapons, and then there are chemicals used as weapons, and these two things are not synonymous with each other.
Re:Technically correct, but... (Score:4, Informative)
My slightly more informed guess is perhaps because RTX isn't found in peppers.
Just a wild guess though, but I would assume that since there is no RTX in peppers it would prevent them from measuring RTX in peppers.
RTX comes from a leafy Moroccan plant similar to poison-ivy. Capsaicin is the primary TRPV1 antagonist found in peppers (the others found in peppers are nowhere near as potent or plentiful), thus capsaicin is the chemical to measure. Can't use it as a measure if it isn't there. Duh.
Re:Pepper Spray (Score:3, Informative)
They should be using Resiniferatoxin, it's significantly more potent than capsaicin. Of course, that isn't found in peppers...
The only down-side I see is it actually doesn't cause any physical damage except to pain receptors. so anybody who has been hit with RTX poison gas recovers and comes back the next day feeling absolutely no pain. If you use it on someone, you'd better kill them or you've just created a super soldier!
Re:Technically correct, but... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Tastes great (Score:4, Informative)
It's also not a permanent pain reliever, it is temporary. It can last longer than other methods though. AFAICT it can last for a few weeks [usatoday.com].