The hot pepper linked to teen's death can cause arteries in the brain to spasm.

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[–] 155 points 2 years ago (25 children)

Harris Wolobah's cause of death is not yet determined; it's not certain if the chip is to blame.

Maybe, just maybe we should put our pitchforks away until we know if the chip mentioned is responsible?

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    [–] 127 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Headline: a single chip killed someone!

    Article: the cause of death has not been determined

    🤦‍♂️

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  • [–] 63 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    I can almost guarantee it wasn't the chip itself that did anything, but some underlying condition the kid already had that was exasperated by the spice. Perhaps even an allergic reaction. The media is blowing up on this without even knowing the actual cause of death.

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  • [–] 36 points 2 years ago

    Pretty fucken disgraceful if you ask me. Take a tragic accident, turn it into clickbait, and use it to drive traffic to your “news” site to get more eyes on your bullshit advertisements.

    God I fucking hate this planet.

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    [–] 53 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Still no proof capsaicin caused the death. I'm eagerly awaiting for what the autopsy unveils

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    [–] 41 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Gonna be real mad if this ends up making it harder to get hot stuff. Don't push your limits folks, but don't restrict others.

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    [+] 34 points 2 years ago (2 children)
  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (11 children)

    I'd just argue the warnings are for fluff to make the experience seem more authentic.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Actually, not fluff. From an article on this in the NYT

    Also last year, about 30 public school students in Clovis, N.M., experienced health issues after eating the chip, KOB-TV of Albuquerque reported. As a preventive measure, the Huerfano School District in Colorado banned the chips, according to a post on its Facebook page.

    In a 2020 study, researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center detailed the “serious complications” that can result from eating the Carolina Reaper pepper, noting that a 15-year-old boy had suffered an acute cerebellar stroke two days after eating one on a dare. The Carolina Reaper has been measured at more than two million Scoville heat units, the scale used to measure how hot peppers are. The Naga Viper has been measured at just under 1.4 million Scoville units. Jalapeño peppers are typically rated at between 2,000 and 8,000 units.

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    [–] 25 points 2 years ago* (4 children)

    No. It just highlights the stupidity of people following online challenges.

    Apart from that, those chips were labeled 18+, IIRC. How the heck did they get into the mouth of a 14 year old?

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    [–] 13 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'm fine if an adult wants to take this kind of risk, but this kid died and other kids have been hospitalized. We protect children from all sorts of other risky things that we allow adults to purchase. I don't think we should allow children to purchase this.

    No, it won't stop kids from getting ahold of it sometimes. We can't stop kids from getting ahold of alcohol and cigarettes all the time either. We should still make it as hard as possible for them to get it until they're adults- although I think 16 should be the drinking age and 18 the driving age, but that's another story.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago (11 children)

    From my understanding, this is the first case of actually serious consequences, and I'm sure millions of these chips have been eaten by now.

    We need more stupid challenges that cause only pain but no serious, long term injury. It's a good way to learn not to do stupid challenges, keeping kids away from the stupider ones that are more likely to do permanent harm.

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  • [+] 9 points 2 years ago (1 child)
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    [–] 9 points 2 years ago

    'The chip was only intended for adults'. I know there are plenty of adults that adore a challenge of spice foods. My experience in marketing tells me these people knew exactly what demographic they'd be hitting hardest with this type of challenge.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    I really want one of these chips now, thanks little buddy.. your life was not lost in vain!!

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    The effects on blood pressure are well known, but that it can cause spasm of arteries is interesting.

    Many people eat lots of spicy food daily and I never heard of serious health issues. Especially a single chip might contain a concentrated amount of capsaicin, but it is unlikely to contain much more in volume then a hot plate of chili con carne or even just a hand full of raw jalapenos. So I assume it is some underlying condition and a shock reaction and not the capsaicin itself.

    I would love to see more research into this.

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