When you look at a bottle of window cleaner and wonder aloud “Who needs to be told not to clean their contacts with this?” pause, think of this video and remind yourself that people aren’t always terribly bright. The five-person team at Channel 2 Daybreak in Denver participated in Paqui’s One Chip Challenge without taking the written or verbal warnings seriously. That flippant disregard works for most of the group, but it leaves poor Natalie Tysdal on all fours behind the news desk puking her chip — and anything else she ingested that day — into a wastebasket.
These chips aren’t just a bit hot. They aren’t Flaming Hot Cheetos. Nope. They are made with the hottest pepper on the market. Seriously. Since August 7, 2013, the Carolina Reaper has been certified as the world’s hottest chili pepper by Guinness World Records. But, that’s not all. If searing the delicate skin of your mouth on Carolina reapers wasn’t enough, the ingredients also include ghost peppers and chipotles.
Tortilla chip brand Paqui created the chips to drive a viral marketing campaign on social media, where people love to torture themselves on camera in acts of figuratively masturbatory sadomasochism. Participants are invited to woofle down a single chip and film their reaction as part of the #onechipchallenge. In addition to new followers and increased views, people who take part in this exercise in pain will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win a Paqui reaper neon sign and a year’s supply of chips. Right now, there are about 450 videos on YouTube marked with the hashtag.
It’s no wonder that some producer on Daybreak in Denver thought it would be hilarious to have the on-air talent do their best to cope with the burning pain of these chips. And, they don’t send them in blind. The team is read the disclaimer printed inside the Paqui package: “Subjects can expect short-term loss of speech, followed by extreme profanity, heavy breathing, enhanced sinus functions, and impaired vision from heat-induced tears.” But, no one takes it seriously.
Natalie Tysdal thinks she had it on lock. She takes a bite, poses for a self-congratulatory selfie with the package, and then the heat hits. You see her stop mid-question and realize that she made a terrible, terrible mistake. Her solution? Drink coffee. Coffee?!? Natalie, no. In seconds, she is bent and heaving. Her description of her reaction makes it certain that she should have feared the reaper.*
*Meanwhile, our food editor wants everyone to know that he ate two chips on Uproxx Snapchat last year with no problems. Isn’t that at least worth a follow?