Interesting Facts

The hottest chilli in the world has been developed in the market town of Grantham, Lincs, in the UK. (Called the "Infinity Chilli" it has gained the title "hottest chilli in the world" after tests revealed it has a Scoville Scale Rating of 1,176,182 - hotter than the kind of chilli reportedly used in hand grenades by the Indian military.  To put this in perspective 2,000,000 is the Scoville rating for military grade pepper spray.  If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, then you don't know much about the British male.  In the UK the ability to eat the hottest chilli is a real sign of manliness.)

The Indian military is going to use the world's hottest chilli as a new weapon in the fight against terrorism. (The thumb-sized "bhut jolokia", which is usually used to cure stomach troubles, will be employed to pepper suspects with the tear gas-like grenades. Of course London's Thai Cottage sparked a terror alert that led police to break down the restaurant's door when it dry cooked a pot of bird's eye chillies. )

Bhut jolokia - also known as "ghost chilli" is the world's hottest chilli. (They are over 125,000-times spicier than a jalapeno. On the Scoville scale, the scientific measurement of a chilli's spiciness, it measured more than 1,000,000 Scoville units: Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.)

Farmers in Botswana are using chilli peppers to keep elephants at bay. (The chillies, planted around the perimeter of the crop, act as a buffer. The idea being that when an elephant wanders in, the smell of the chillies crushed under its feet will drive it away. Of course if they develop a taste for curry, there could be a problem.)