February 22, 2019

Why do spicy foods melt my mouth?

That bowl of four-alarm chili is waging chemical warfare on your tongue. Chili peppers contain capsaicin (pronounced cap-SAY-ah-sin), a substance that triggers the sensations of pain […]
February 22, 2019

What are the hottest peppers?

A chemist named Wilbur Scoville developed a scale to answer this very question in 1912. His system measures the heat factor of chili peppers in multiples […]
February 22, 2019

How do I cool my mouth if I eat something spicy?

(1) Don’t guzzle water! Although a splash of icy H2O might provide momentary relief, it will only scatter the scorching capsaicin chemical throughout your mouth, spreading […]
February 22, 2019

Why do doughnuts have holes?

For the same reason bagels have holes – so they’re not a gooey mess inside. Although doughnuts and bagels are cooked in different ways (fried and […]