YouTube

In 9th grade, on a dare, I ate a really hot pepper. I'm not even sure what it was called, but it was small and yellow and the heat from that nibble forced me to seek refuge in so many cartons of chocolate milk that I immediately vomited.

Which is only to say I know a smidgeon of what these people went through during Copenhagen's Chili Klaus event. On a damp day in early June, 1,000 brave souls gathered to eat the infamous Ghost chili, which, at around 1,000,000 heat units on the Scoville scale, is one of the hottest peppers known to man.

These volunteers watched as the chilis were trotted out in a locked, fire-engine red case. Then, with communion hands, they received the thumb-sized red pepper wrapped in sealed plastic bags. Some smelled it, others ventured a lick, most looked around with excited trepidation. Then, at the strike of the church bell, they simultaneously inhaled the little devil and waited.

How utterly torturous is that bite? If this video is any proof, it's enough to make grown men and women call out in pain, weep openly, crouch down in the fetal position, and vomit in public. So, you know, not that hot. Watch for yourself, if you dare (it gets really good around the 1:20 mark). --Lauren Hansen