Hottest Pepper in the World: The Naga Viper

Jalapeño peppers rate about 2,500 to 5,000 on the Scoville scale of pepper hotness. The new Naga Viper, however, measures 1,359,000 Scovilles. It was developed by researchers at Warwick University in Britain who crossed the hottest peppers in the world. The Naga Viper is so hot that it’s actually dangerous to eat.

“It’s painful to eat,” one researcher told the Daily Mail. “It’s hot enough to strip paint.” Indeed, the Daily Mail reports that defense researchers are already investigating the pepper’s potential uses as a weapon. 

But the researchers — who make customers sign a waiver declaring that they’re of sound mind and body before trying a Naga Viper-based curry — insist that consuming the fiery chili does the body good.