Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, I need milk.
Ah, relief. Oh boy, oh boy, I need to go.
Phew, psst, hey, smarty pants, sorry about that.
My mouth was on fire.
No, no, no, no, no.
Not a real fire. An imaginary fire with very real fire -like sensations of burning on my tongue and in my belly and pouring slightly out of my pores.
No, no. I know what you're thinking.
It's not a fever and I'm not sick.
I've been eating spicy peppers and hot sauces all morning to try and build up my spice tolerance.
That way, I can impress my...
wait a sec. Let's rewind so I can fill you in from the beginning.
You see, I was up late last night with some friends who are visiting from out of town.
In fact, they're still here.
Hey, buddies, why don't you come introduce yourself to the Smarty Pants crew?
Hi, I'm Cappy. I'm a tree shrew from Southeast Asia, born and raised.
Good to know you. Buenos dias.
Good morning, Smarty Pants.
My name is Picante, and I am a proud parrot from Mexico.
Psst, Smarty Pants.
Do you know what the Spanish word, picante, means in English?
If you said spicy, you're right.
Oh, yeah. Picante means spicy.
Why am I named spicy?
Because I take great joy in munching on spicy chiles and jalapeños in my spare time.
I like my food muy picante, which means very spicy Wait, someone's missing, where is...
Hello boys and girls, I'm Miss Scoville I'm fiery, fun, and fabulous Or at least that's what they tell me When it comes to food, I like to turn the temperature up The question is, can you handle the heat?
Right, and that brings us to last night's dinner You see, my friends here kindly offered to cook dinner but things did not end well.
Silly me, I forgot how much this crew loves to spice it up.
There's hot, and then there's hot, hot, hot.
Mind you, I'm not talking about the temperature of the food.
I'm talking about the spiciness.
Hey, Smarty Pants, do any of you like eating spicy food?
I'm hearing some yeses and a lot of nos.
Well, when it comes to spicy food, I'm a bit of a spice wuss, but I'm determined to change that.
You can do it, trusty narrator.
I believe in you, amigo.
Or not. Either way, it's gonna be hot.
Oh boy, I might come to regret this, but at least we'll learn the answers to what makes certain foods spicy?
What happens to your body when you eat something spicy?
Are humans the only species that eat spicy foods?
And why does milk help eliminate the pain?
Get ready for a spicy whiff of science on Who Smarted?
Who's smarted? Who's smart?
Is it you? Is it me?
Is it science? Or history?
Listen up, everyone.
We make smarting lots of fun.
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Excuse me. Pass the hot sauce.
Thank you. These chicken wings are hot, but not hot enough.
I rate these jalapeno poppers a 5 ,000.
What about you, trusty narrator?
Why aren't you eating?
Yeah, after this morning's adventure, I think I might just sit this one out and not on the toilet.
Smarty Pants, true or false?
Your liking or being able to tolerate spicy foods is based on genetics.
For example, if your family likes spicy food, then chances are so will you.
Or if your parents don't like spicy food, like mine, then chances are you won't like spicy food too much, like me.
You might be surprised to learn the answer is false.
That's right. Your liking or tolerance for spicy foods is not due to your family history.
However, it might seem that way because enjoying spicy foods is something that can be developed over time.
And if your parents like spicy foods, chances are they will introduce spicy foods to their kids, who then grow up enjoying the heat.
I see. And should kids eat spicy foods?
Kids, yes. Babies, no.
Yeah, no spicy for the baby, please.
But kids as young as toddlers can usually handle a light spice.
And then, as they grow into adolescence, they can learn to enjoy foods with a little kick to them.
Of course, kids should always ask their adult before chomping down on any old pepper or dousing their food in fiery sauces.
The trick is starting slowly and building up your taste buds to handle the heat.
Then you can have fun working your way up the Scoville scale.
Oh, smarty pants, true or false, Scoville is the unit of measurement used to determine how spicy something is.
Did you say true? Then you're on fire.
But what exactly is the Scoville scale?
The Scoville scale was created in 1912 by a pharmacologist named Wilbur Scoville.
He created it to help measure the spiciness of spicy peppers related to their capsaicin.
Capsa -what? It's pronounced capsaicin.
Capsaicin is the chemical that appears in things like hot peppers.
It's what makes spicy foods spicy.
Woo -hoo! The chemical compound capsaicin was first isolated or separated from chili peppers in 1878.
Soon after, it was discovered capsaicin caused a burning sensation in the mucus membranes in your mouth.
It also increased the secretion of gastric acid and stimulated the nerve endings in your skin.
It's also what I'm named after.
Gotcha. Well, I'm gonna stay away from these long, scary -looking red peppers and stick to this nice, cool -looking green one.
Um, amigo, that green pepper is a jalapeno pepper, muy picante Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, my mouth's on fire, my mouth's on fire Yep, he's feeling the burn, alright Smartypants, what should I do to stop the burning in my mouth?
Should I A, eat more pepper, B, let my tongue sweat it out, C, drink some water, or D, drink a glass of milk While many spicy pepper enthusiasts may tell you just to let your tongue sweat it out, the correct answer is D.
Drink some milk. Ah, much better.
But why does milk help against spicy food?
Because of casein. Casein?
Si, senor. Casein is a protein similar sounding to capsaicin.
Only casein helps eliminate the spicy capsaicin chemicals.
Ooh. Just like how soap washes away dirt on your hands, casein washes away capsaicin in your mouth.
I'm glad I had some milk.
Actually, you can find casein in lots of dairy products.
Sour cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, or ice cream can all be used to help with a spicy mouth.
But you know what won't help?
Water. Really? Why not?
Because capsaicin is an oil -based chemical that won't dissolve in water.
Instead of combating the capsaicin, water just spreads it all over your mouth, making it burn more.
Feeling better, narrator?
Much. And I gotta say, I think I'm handling the spiciness a little better now.
Um, if you say so, amigo.
Also, here's a tissue.
Ah, yes. Thank you.
Whether or not you find the burning sensation caused by chili peppers and hot sauces delightful or not so delightful, there's usually no avoiding some of the side effects of eating capsaicin.
For example, watery eyes, runny nose, sweating, turning red, and perhaps a bellyache, gas, and a need to go to the bathroom.
Yeah, it's not for everyone.
Most animals learn to avoid eating hot peppers.
But not all animals avoid eating spicy foods.
Can the smarty pantalones guess which animal species, besides humans, enjoys eating fiery foods?
Here's a hint. I'm one of them.
That's right. It's birds.
And the other? Tree shrews, like me.
Really? So, spicy foods don't bother you?
Picante the parrot, like all birds, have receptors in their mouths that get triggered by capsaicin, just like humans Only our receptor count is mucho lower This means spicy peppers like this jalapeno don't bother me much I actually like the taste As for tree shrews, Smarty Pants, do you remember where Cappy
said they came from?
Here's a hint Did you say Southeast Asia?
Good job! Tree shrews live in tropical rainforests, very hot, very wet.
We're the only other mammal related to primates that enjoys eating spicy plants and peppers by choice.
Wow. Smarty Pants, why do you think this is?
Is it because A. Tree shrews just want to have fun, B.
Adaptation to their environment, or C.
Lack of other food sources?
While this tree shrew does like having fun The answer is B Tree shrews enjoy eating spicy foods Because their taste buds adapted over time To tolerate spicy plants and peppers Now we love the taste Tree shrews just wanna have fun Speaking of fun Let's play a game to test our taste buds Oh boy, I know
what that means Things are about to get spicy right after this quick break.
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Now back to who smarted.
Okay, Miss Scoville, what punishment do you and my other buds have in store for my not -so -spice -tolerant taste buds?
Well, you know me, I never leave home without my favorite bottles of hot sauce from all different levels of the Scoville scale.
Some will give your mouth just a tiny tingle, while others will have you sweating it out.
Ah, you want to have a hot sauce competition.
That's right. Ooh, I like the sound and taste of that.
Oh, boy. I don't know.
My mouth is still tingling from before.
Hey, you'll never adapt unless you eat.
Copy's right. The only way to build up your taste buds is to work them out.
Okay. Okay, I'm in.
Let me just make sure I have enough milk.
Okay, we're good. Welcome to Hotty Ones.
Oh, and Smarty Pants, you can try this at home.
Make sure to have an adult supervise.
All you'll need is a food to act as the hot sauce delivery system.
We'll be using tortilla chips.
You'll also need three bottles of hot sauce at different ranges on the Scoville scale.
Now, the Scoville Spice Scale goes from a bell pepper, which rates a zero, to ghost peppers, Trinidad scorpions, and Carolina reaper peppers, which rate between 1 and 2 .2 million.
Whoa! And in between, there are peppers like poblano, jalapeno, habanero, and cayenne.
We'll be at the lower end of the Scoville scale, so feel free to try the ones we use.
Round one. We'll start with a chip with a tiny dash of sriracha sauce, which ranges from 1 ,000 to 2 ,200 Scoville units.
Ah, that wasn't too bad.
Delicious, in fact.
What was I worried about?
I got this. Next up, a tangy, tongue -tingling Tabasco sauce, coming in around 2 ,500 Scoville units.
I love the way it burns.
It burns? I didn't notice.
Definitely hotter, but I can handle it.
I could also use a tissue.
Finally, we have a jalapeno hot sauce, which runs from 2 ,500 to 5 ,000 Scoville units.
Be careful, it's a little hotter.
Here I go, for the win.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, I need milk, I need milk, I need milk!
What's he screaming about?
I can barely taste it.
He'll get there one day.
Or not. A big shout out to superfans Courtney, Mac, Ellie, and their dog Molly in Lincoln, Nebraska.
We're so glad you love smarting with your friends at Who Smarted.
Good girl, Molly. This episode, Spicy Foods, was written by Taryn Elise Schneider and voiced by Sarah Scotchbonnet -Suiteck, Chris Carolina Reaper -Okawa, Karena Kayenne Connor, and Jerry Culver.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Habanero -Han.
Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Pepperoncini -Comaski.
The theme song is by Brian Serrano Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Ghost Pepper Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Kolber.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
