I think this is masochism. Food doesn’t leave any external marks so these people go with food.
I do lots of very spicy food. I think my tongue has literally been damaged over time by all the heat, so stuff I don’t register as being even the slightest bit spicy are unbearably hot to others and I have to really ratchet it up to taste anything.
But what I’ve found at lots of Asian restaurants is that the staff assumes my pale, white ass can’t take real heat. I ask for “5-peppers” hot and they’re like “We’ll start you with a 2.” It’s annoying. I’ve never been served food that’s “too hot” in a restaurant, so I kinda understand these exaggerated descriptions people give on food orders.
Being the only spice tolerant person in my family kind of sucks. Whenever I try to get a family member to try something new, the first question they ask is whether it’s spicy. I literally cannot even detect mild heat anymore and have several times accidentally given the okay on things they then couldn’t finish.
