There’s a new chili pepper in the world, burning up the old Scoville meter. Don’t eat it. Seriously, it’s not hard to tell that as you’re reading this you’re thinking about eating it and that is freaking dangerous. This thing is no joke. It might be the smallest, mightiest “food” ever. Seriously, just stop.
The Dragon’s Breath chili was developed by Mike Smith, from St. Asaph, Wales in conjunction with Nottingham Trent University. It is a little red-orange chili with a serious, potentially life threatening punch. According to Smith, the Dragon’s Breath chili has a Scoville rating of 2.48 million. This 2.48 million rating isn’t just potentially record breaking, it’s almost a million units higher on the scale than the Carolina reaper which currently holds the Guinness World Record.
🌶 You don't want this in your curry https://t.co/GQSymbHKxZ
— BBC Wales News (@BBCWalesNews) May 17, 2017
For reference sake, Frank’s Red Hot Original hot sauce comes in between 400 and 500 units on the Scoville scale. That’s it! No thousands, no millions. Just between 400 and 500. And if you’re still tossing the idea around that, “This is stupid and of course I’d be able to handle the heat,” take a look at these people eating the Carolina reaper (AKA current #1 spiciest pepper).
So fun! Even the guy who’s responsible for this pepper won’t try it. He told the BBC that tasting it, “would not be a pleasant sensation,” and “The heat is beyond.” Yeah, it’s “beyond” anything you should ever put in your mouth.
The Dragon’s Breath chili was the result of trial of new plant food aimed at increasing the quality and resistance of plants. It was grown on a three foot high tree and actually serves a purpose outside of antagonizing awful decisions. Smith said the chili could be used as an alternative to anesthetic in third world countries where accessibility and cost can be prohibitive. Apparently the oil from the chili is capable of numbing a person’s skin. Awesome!
If it can numb your skin, we can only imagine what it could do to your insides. According to Thrillist, no one has swallowed the pepper yet (presumably because they don’t want to die) however, someone did take a nibble. The tester’s mouth was reportedly numb for two days. Smith also told Thrillist that the university that helped develop the Dragon’s Breath chili issued a warning that it could, “cause anaphylactic shock in some people.”
We will end it on that note. Just kidding. We will end it on this note: Don’t eat this pepper.
(Via BBC)
