Making things spicy
Activity: Sophomore Poindexter Tomlinson tests his limits by trying different hot sauce challenges which he finds online and from word of mouth. Tomlinson hopes to one day pursue a food-related career and apply his taste-testing skills.
May 30, 2014
What exactly do you do?
I guess what I really do is food challenges involving hot sauce. I’m kind of a heat fanatic. I try to see how much I can take.
When did you get started and why?
I started about five years ago a month after my birthday, and I got really into hot, hot sauce, like habanero sauce. I was bored and wanted something to do. If it’s burning myself with really hot hot sauce then sure. I’ll do it. You don’t have a long time here, so you might as well make the most of it.
What’s your favorite challenge and why?
The hottest I’ve ever done is Ghost Chili. You take habanero sauce and multiply it by 10. I get pleasure from it, I drive on eating hot things. Some may think that might be weird, but it’s something I enjoy doing.
What’s your least favorite?
(The one I disliked the most) was a mild hot sauce I tried called Assblaster. You would think with a name like that it would be hot, but quite frankly you start to build a tolerance to spicy things.
What is the procedure for a challenge?
Recently I’ve been increasing the amounts of sauce I ingest, about a spoonful, you swish it around in your mouth and try not to get it on your lips or other sensitive parts of your face.
What is a hot interview challenge?
The idea to do these was from another video called spicy news, celebrities take a habanero and eat it whole while they give a newscast while their mouth is burning. Instead of buying the habanero I get the sauce. I’ll interview myself with the guest, do the challenge and I read 10 questions. So far I’ve interviewed my dad, uncle and two of my cousins.
What lessons have you learned?
A great lesson would be don’t overexert yourself. I’ve tried some recently that have been so hot it hurts. You just have to know your limits.
What challenge will you try next?
I’m trying to get a plant known as “the source.” It’s very expensive and it cost at least $90. It’s taking the ghost chilli and multiplying it by 7.1. So hot that it can hospitalize you and I’d like to try some of that. I want to know what that burning sensation feels like.