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I was in New York City some years back (won't go there now) and we went to a Chinese Restaurant whose specialty was...making whatever you wanted them to make, however you wanted them to make it.

I ordered a spicy dish, and then customized it to make it really extra spicy, and it was, but...completely delicious!

As I ate, I could see the people peering out at me from behind the curtain that hung in the doorway to the kitchen.

Then, the cook came out and said with a big grin "Ah! You eat spicy food!"

I got the distinct impression they made it to cause me discomfort, fully expecting me not to eat it...

I don't eat for pain from the heat. I think people who do that are silly masochists, but I did enjoy this video:

Chili Klaus and Classical Orchestra eat the worlds hottest peppers!

There was one guy obviously throwing up in his hand, and they all made a beeline outta there!

My wife knows how much I enjoy them, and she bought me a big bunch of dried peppers that we hung in the kitchen. These were dried, very mild (almost no heat) and had a wonderful flavor and texture, kind of like dried tomatoes. I would walk by, rip one off the hanging, and munch on it as a snack.

One day, when I was alone in the house (My wife was gone for the day) I ripped a pepper off that hanging bundle, threw it in my mouth and began chewing. It was so damned hot that I began having trouble breathing, and NOTHING brought the heat down...I tried all the usual remedies. I was alone, sweat pouring off my scalp, and when I went into the bathroom, my eyes had begun turning bloodshot!

I have to say-I began to panic a little bit, but I forced myself to stay calm, and that if I could get past 15-30 minutes, it would probably begin to improve.

But it felt to me as if I could have died there, all alone. (this was before the cell phone days)

I have long suspected an unfriendly entity at some point in the supply chain for those peppers deliberately planted a single, really hot one in there.