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Dec 20 2011

How Pepper Spray Works

35 min 3 movies discussed
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Lt. John Pike of the Davis, Calif., police department brought the wrath of the Internet on himself when he casually doused peaceful protestors with pepper spray. Find out what was in the can in this eye-watering episode of Stuff You Should Know.

AI Summary

Get ready to dive into the science and controversy behind pepper spray! Josh and Chuck explore this surprisingly complex topic, covering everything from the ancient history of weaponized peppers (including Japanese geishas hiding them in their kimonos) to the modern chemistry that makes pepper spray so effective. They break down how the Scoville heat scale works, compare pepper spray to ghost peppers and other scorching hot chilies, and explain exactly what happens to your body when you get sprayed - spoiler alert: it's not pleasant and definitely not just "a food product" as some might claim.


Movies Discussed

Cops
Cops
1989
★ 6.6
"Do you watch cops? — Josh asked Chuck if he watches the TV show Cops and mentioned seeing an episode where police officers accidentally pepper sprayed themselves." — Josh
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
1965 2h 54m
★ 7.7
"he's spraying Julie Andrews in the field for sound and music — Josh mentioned this as an example of the pepper spray cop meme where people inserted the UC Davis officer into famous images and movies." — Josh
Top Chef
Top Chef
2006
★ 6.8
"The Ghost Chili made an appearance on Top Chef last week actually — Chuck mentioned that the extremely hot Ghost Pepper was featured in a cooking challenge on the reality TV show Top Chef." — Chuck

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