World's Hottest Chile Pepper--Can You Handle It?

It's official. India's "Ghost Chile" is now the world's hottest chile pepper knocking down a notch former melt-down champion Habanero. The Bhut Jolokia's blistering 1 million Scoville Units (SU) fire rating scorches Habanero's "cool" 580,000 SU. Local chile farmers in northeastern India eat these belly burners and survive...barely! One farmer says eating a Bhut Jolokia is like dying. He warns outsiders not to eat the chiles. According to an online article "The smallest morsels can flavor a sauce so intensely it’s barely edible. Eating a raw sliver causes watering eyes and a runny nose. An entire chili is an all-out assault on the senses, akin to swigging a cocktail of battery acid and glass shards."

Want to buy some Ghost chiles? Presently, India is not exporting fresh chiles but chile paste and powder are available. Fresh Ghost chiles, once available, will make wonderful Halloween treats, don't ya think?

Hatchet Discussion Around Campfire

Campfire, hot dogs, great fall weather, and a good book. What more could a pig want? Old and new Pig Skullers showed up for a discussion of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Our next club meeting is Sunday, Nov. 18, 2-3 PM in the library's conference room. We will discuss Will Hobbs' Wild Man Island. Pick up a copy at the library's circulation desk. Check out Hobbs' Wild Man website discussion about recent Alaskan and Canadian archaeological evidence weaved into his book that suggests prehistoric man might have migrated to North America in island-hopping boats.