In 2016, a 47-year-old man took part in a ghost pepper–eating contest and paid a horrifying price. After consuming a whole Bhut Jolokia (ghost pepper)—one of the world’s hottest chili peppers—he began to experience excruciating pain. Despite downing a burger and six glasses of water to calm the burn, he started to vomit violently. The repeated, forceful vomiting caused a spontaneous rupture in his esophagus—a rare but life-threatening condition known as Boerhaave syndrome. The tear measured 2.5