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How hot does a chili really have to be, before it can be turned into a weapon, thus giving new significance to the term ‘food fight’? The war against terrorism is about to find on a new meaning, as the growers of the world’s hottest pepper find a new market for their product.
The Indian military is preparing to use the thumb-sized ‘bhut jolokia’, or ‘ghost chili’ to create tear gas-like hand grenades. These will render suspects immobilized, say defense officials.
The ‘bhut jolokia’, in 2007, was recorded by Guinness World Records, as being the hottest chili on earth. It is grown and eaten in northwest India. It is seen as a cure for stomach problems and some even say it is one way to fight the crippling summer heat.
Tabasco sauce has levels of 2,500 to 5,000 units on the Scoville scale, which measures the amount of spiciness of a product. Jalapeno peppers rate somewhere between between 2,500 to 8,000 units, while the ‘ghost chili’ measures 1,000,000 units. That is a million times stronger than a pepper that causes people to cry.
"The chili grenade has been found fit for use after trials in Indian defense laboratories, a fact confirmed by scientists” said Col. R. Kalia, a defense spokesman, at the northeastern state of Assam’s Defense Research and Development Organization.
"This is definitely going to be an effective nontoxic weapon because its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hide-outs,” said Director of the Life Sciences Department at the New Delhi headquarters of the DRDO, R. B. Srivastava.
The ‘ghost pepper’ can be changed into a vapour, capable of totally stunning its victims with pain, without killing them.
Srivastava, who led a defense research laboratory in Assam, said trials are also hoping to produce bhut jolokia-based aerosol sprays, which could be used by women against personal attackers. Police will also use the new weapon to control and dispel crowds.
The major winners in all this will be the farmers who grow the chilli, as they find a completely new and much wider market for their super hot product.
About Pepper Growers To Find New Market Through The Military
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