Indian military to weaponize world's hottest chili

[proteus_lives]

"After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized "bhut jolokia," or "ghost chili," to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday."

"The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India's northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat"

"It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000"

Ouch! That will sting.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_india_chili_grenades

[rug]

1. Blowing up the enemy's ass is not the best tactic.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. 1,000,000 is relatively weak, as far as OC/Pepper spary goes.

Most police/military pepper sparay is 2,000,000-5,000,000 SHU with lighter civilian stuff as weak as 500,000
This depends on the pepper % content, of course. The "heat" comes from the capsaicin.
Using Jolokia powder in grenades would rank on the low end of "pepper spray". However, it will certainly work.
People have used super hot chiles to keep wild animals out of villages for centuries.

Myself? The sauce I used at lunch on my chicken patty sandwich and fries clocks in around 2,500,000 SHU. Good stuff.
I'd like to try a bhut jolokia pepper myself. 1,000,000+ scovs should be pretty fun.
Someday, I'd like to be able to win bar bets by using pepper spray like Binaca.