911 Challenge

As my sister reminded me as we texted eachother after the earthquake, I love them chicken wings. It was 1995 in Charleston, SC when I realized this along with my love for spicy food. The place I went to on Market St had Habanero wings (first time I heard the word "Habanero") and they made me cry and sniffle and made my lips numb and I loved it. There is a place very nearby where I take work trips to California named University Chicken, and they have these strange tasting wings. They don't taste bad, but they are very sweet and tangy besides being spicy which is an interesting combination. Like alot of spicy wing places, they have a scale of spiciness of which I've gotten to the second from the top. They also have a challenge for which they make an extra special wing sauce advertised as two levels higher than their normal highest strength sauce. You win something if you eat so many of their spiciest wings in such a period of time. Well, Tuesday after I had my 5 second-from-the-top wings and a few beers, a large group of college kids came in, all of which who had won the 911 challenge except for 3-4 of them who were being initiated that night. I watched the whole ordeal and they were in some serious pain.

I had been debating whether or not to eventually try the challenge. Each time I go there I fear it will be my last time as I think I'll either quit my job or be fired shortly. So when I saw they had a few cups of the nasty spicy wing sauce leftover after the challenge, I asked if I could try some. I took a bite sized piece of celery and loaded it up with not a huge scoop, but definitely more than a teaspoon--probably about as much would coat one chicken wing. I knew from my vast wing sauce eating experience that it would be fine at first and take a bit to build up to a painful sensation. It took a good five mintues, but it got there. The pain on my lips and in my mouth was bad but it felt like I could probably withstand it for a long time. I don't know about 10 wings worth, though. What really makes me doubt if I can handle the challenge, though, was the feeling in my stomach. I was having some serious unfamiliar pain in that area. I didn't end up throwing up or going to the restroom, so I guess it wasn't that bad and it might be something I could get used to. But at least half of the contestants I was watching eventually threw up outside of the place. I imagine if I had more than a few wings worth of that sauce I would be in the same situation. It's all a question of how long I could hold it. The challenge requires holding it for 10 minutes. Maybe I will try next week, but I doubt it, because it also caused some issues the next day at work. Not serious, but not comfortable.

The challenge is described here and you can see videos here.