Carolina Reaper Challenge

YouTube has become a repository of challenges, such as the ice bucket challenge, the cinnamon challenge, and the ghost pepper challenge. That last one dared people to eat a ghost pepper (Bhut jolokia), which until recently was considered the hottest chili pepper in the world. At one million Scoville units, the ghost pepper is hot enough to kill a person.

That challenge morphed into the Carolina Reaper challenge. In 2013, the Carolina Reaper pepper (bred in a Rock Hill, South Carolina greenhouse by "Smokin" Ed Currie, proprietor of the PuckerButt Pepper Company) was certified by Guinness World Records as the world’s hottest chili pepper at 2.2 million Scoville units.

(In May 2017, the Dragon's Breath Chili Pepper achieved an unconfirmed heat of 2.48 million Scoville units, which would surpass the Carolina Reaper if confirmed.)

So, of course, when faced with a chili pepper so hot it can kill you, many people decided that the thing to do would be to eat one. Thus, the Carolina Reaper challenge was born, featuring videos in which people chew up and swallow an entire Carolina Reaper pepper. The very predictable result of such foolishness is a whole lot of pain and suffering.

Why do people do this? Is it because they want to show the world they can be as brainless as the next idiot? Search YouTube for “Carolina Reaper challenge” and you will find videos showing people eating these peppers and immediately regretting it. What’s next – the “Wild Dogs Gnaw Your Arm Off” challenge? Or the “Poke Your Eye Out With A Sharp Stick” challenge? Do you really have to hurt yourself before you decide it’s a bad idea?

I’ll admit the videos provoke a certain interest. Schadenfreude is a real thing, and it’s even more satisfying when the pain is intentionally and needlessly self-inflicted. But people who refuse to use their common sense are no better off than those who have no common sense. Your brain: use it or lose it.