My Experience Attempting the One Chip Challenge

I had never heard of the One Chip Challenge until my roommate brought it home yesterday saying “I saw this at the store and thought of you!”

Naturally, I was honored, my ego perked up and since I was feeling impulsive, I said, “Challenge accepted!”

Let’s start with what the One Chip Challenge is:

1. Eat the entire chip
2. Wait as long as possible before drinking or eating anything
3. Post your reaction on social media

Simple, right? Well, Paqui (pronounced pah-kee) a brand of tortilla chips, came up with the One Chip Challenge, and this year brings the two hottest peppers in the world together in one chip – The Carolina Reaper and the Scorpion Pepper.

As I write this, a full 12 hours after eating the “chip that will destroy you” I can now think back clearly to some of the “red” flags that might have clued me in on what I was getting myself into. I do not write this to turn anyone away from the challenge, as probably no one could have persuaded me against it at the time I did it. I simply want to share my experience, as well as include what I did afterwards that helped my body calm down and help me feel like I wasn’t totally dying from the inside out.

To follow through with all the steps you can see I have added my video of my attempt at eating this year’s “hottest” chip!

While I barely lasted 1 full minute before drinking milk and then promptly throwing up (which would put me in the “Powerless” category for Paqui’s challenge) eating that chip was a once in a lifetime experience. I say because, well, I will only be doing that once in my lifetime and because eating a chip made from the world’s two hottest peppers was unlike anything I had ever tasted before.

I will be honest, it wasn’t the best tasting thing I’d ever eaten, but then again, what can you expect when there are only five ingredients that make up this chip, two of which are THE WORLD’S HOTTEST PEPPERS? Which brings me to what I shall call the “red” and “green” flags of the One Chip Challenge!

Green Flag: There are only five ingredients! No GMOs, No Trans-fat, No MSG, and No Gluten! As far as a chip goes, this one is very healthy…

Red Flag: The singular chip that I was so ready to take on was packaged in a cute little yellow, red, and black coffin. Yes! A coffin. Obviously Paqui has as a sense of humor in their advertising while at the same time not looking passed the intensity of the hotness of the “chip that will destroy you”. As far as ingredients goes, it seems organic (if I am using that word right) but eating the two hottest peppers in the world won’t go without its side effects.

Inside the very appropriate coffin packaging Paqui has included what you should expect after ingesting the chip.

Round 1: Spicy Punch

For me round 1 came on very quickly. I shoved the chip in my mouth and started chewing as fast as I could. There was no denying it, as soon as the chip hit my tongue, it was game on. Still my ego was high, I just had to chew, swallow and bam! Challenge complete! I was wrong… Which bring us to,

Round 2: Scorpion Sting

This round earns its name most likely because it felt like my tongue had been stung by a scorpion (which has never happened, knock on wood, but this is what I imagine it would be like). My tongue felt like it ballooned inside my mouth and my whole body started to feel hot.

Round 3: Vision Disruptor

You can see this one in my video. I cried. Yup. This will now forever be a core memory of mine. And, as another Green Flag, my sinuses cleared like there was no tomorrow!

Round 4: Gut Slash

I was not expecting this one, which goes back to my ego and the fact that I did not read the entire print on the appropriate coffin packaging (a user error). Thus my stomach took a beating and I threw up.

Round 5: Roasted!

After throwing up I felt defeated. Now on to how I coped with the heat and pain my body was feeling:

1. You see I went for milk right off the bat, maybe that is your go-to for spicy things as well but for me that did not do the trick. Not seen in the video, after taking a trip to the bathroom it was time to get serious.

2. Well kind of serious, I slowly ate a piece of bread. Bread helped my stomach but did nothing for the burning sensation so…

3. ICE CREAM! Ice cream was my lord and savior at this point and it is what helped get me through Round 5 of being completely “Roasted”.

After my attempt at the One Chip Challenge, I can say with confidence, only 12 hours later, that I have learned first and foremost that spicy foods do help me have a wicked bowel movement; Green Flag for me but maybe Red Flag for my roommates! Also, maybe next time I will think twice about eating something that is packaged in a coffin!

For anyone still brave enough to attempt this year’s “hottest” challenge I highly suggest having a pint of your favorite flavor ice cream on hand, a bottle of Tums, and being near a bathroom! Good luck, proceed with caution and make sure to read all the labels before ingesting!