I’m not sure  how many years ago it was I  got the email from my friend, but she sent me a note about something called a ” Ghost Pepper ” and suggested that if I see it listed on a menu to take a hard pass on it because Ghost Peppers were being used in hand grenades where she lives.

I don’t like food with ‘ a kick’ so there was zero chance I would have eaten anything with a Ghost Pepper in it, but I was intrigued by the name and when I learned through some reading, that you didn’t have to do a lot to the Ghost Pepper to turn it into a weapon.

My Grandpa used to say that the only way an apple could keep the doctor away was for you to throw one at your Doctor and hit him between the eyes. The Ghost Pepper unlike the humble and potentially ill-used apple was designed to bring pain and maybe even death to anyone who bit into it.

So leave it to  American Ingenuity  to  look at  something like a Ghost Pepper  and one up it by creating an even hotter pepper by  crossing  something  called a Naga Viper  with The South Carolina Reaper and   challenging  people to eat it.

Here in the States that dare came in the form of The Paqui One Chip Challenge.

About three years ago one of my friends gave me the Paqui Challenge  because it came in a coffin and for Christmas I get a lot of Coffin and skeleton things as gifts. When I turned the box over and read the ingredients I taped the box shut and put it up where my counter surfing dog couldn’t get it.

Just a quick read of the ingredients made me think, who gives their friend a chip of death for as a Christmas gift?  One who knows me I concluded.

I always meant to dispose of the chip but  the coffin box is in my window, still sealed shut with some of my other little coffins and I forgot about it.

I opened the box a few days  after hearing about the young man who died  after taking the “challenge “. I had no idea all this stuff was in the box- by stuff  I mean there are a few good reasons in print for why you do NOT want to take the challenge,but I guess that’s how this works.

The one thing that stood out was #2 on the Challenge Rules that tells the challenger to wait for as long as possible before eating or drinking anything. and then most important, go to Social Media and post your reaction. That’s what this was all about- you eating something that could send you to the hospital so that the manufacturer could get boodles and boodles of free media.

( This product in it’s newest form has been pulled from the shelves )

Before I -re-boxed the chip and the little poster that came with it, I noticed that the bag that the chip is in was discolored.

I poked it with a pencil and then I  decided I’ll check in three more years and see what gives. It’s not a sexy challenge and it won’t get me views on instagram or my poor anemic FB page but I have a feeling that when I open it the next time I should probably do it outside.

amm