Living with roommates has its ups and downs, namely, lower costs but also the fact that you have to share stuff with strangers. Sometimes you end up friends with these folks, other times they are walking nightmares. From unwashed dishes and loud snores, to outright theft, having roommates tends to keep people on their toes.
A woman asked the internet if she was wrong to lay a chili-infused trap for a roommate who would not stop stealing her food. We reached out to the woman who shared the story online via private message and will update the article when she gets back to us.
Having your food stolen is a top-tier annoyance
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
So one woman decided to use her thieving roommates lack of spice tolerance against her
Image credits: Klaus Nielsen (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Timur Weber (not the actual photo)
Image source: Paxx-chan
Spiciness was developed as a defense against consumption, but it never stopped us humans
Image credits: Payoon Gerinto (not the actual photo)
There is a special biological irony that most peppers developed capsaicin, the chemical responsible for their “spice” as a defense mechanism against rodents. Other mammals, such as ourselves, are also affected, as anyone who has unwittingly chowed down on a jalapeño can attest to. Incidentally, birds are actually “immune” to it, as they literally lack the receptors capsaicin locks onto.
However, this has not really deterred humans in the long run. First and foremost, our ancestors needed to eat and would generally consume whatever was available. After all, if your choices are starvation or a bit of pain in your mouth for an hour or so, nearly everyone would eat the chili.
Over time, this has even created a preference for spice. After all, it adds a lot of flavor to food. While we are positively spoiled for flavor now, in the past most staples would be rather bland, so anything that takes it up a notch was worth its weight in gold. One has only to remember the fortunes made by selling spices in the 16th century.
For those who can handle it, there is also a thrill associated with trying hotter and hotter peppers. Some researchers believe that the idea of “surviving” the spiciness is actually a major draw. Plus there are bragging rights, as its people even compete to handle the worst chilis out there.
Food theft is a major problem
Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)
However, as this story demonstrates, some folks can’t handle the heat at all. While in this day and age, not being able to handle black pepper is rare, there are still folks who are just over sensitive. While the roommate in this story is clearly the villain, let’s also take a moment to consider just how hard it is to live if you can’t handle the slightest bit of spice. No pepper, no chili, no paprika.
It’s also hard to avoid if you ever eat out, unless the restaurant is downright terrible. The vast majority of dishes use, at minimum, salt and pepper for seasoning. This also begs the question, if Amy can’t even handle black pepper, how is she stealing this woman’s food and ordering takeout all the time?
Setting aside the chilis “hidden” in the carbonara, this is a dish that will often have a healthy dose of black pepper. So we might have to assume that Amy does have more of a tolerance than this woman will admit. However, it’s entirely possible to be fine with black pepper and still get overwhelmed with real hot peppers.
At the end of the day, this is still a pretty surefire way to make sure her food isn’t stolen again, although at the cost of now having an entirely hostile roommate. There is little to no chance there will be any legal action, unless Amy is willing to lose a lot of money, but it’s also worth considering the risks of antagonizing a person already willing to steal and who has the disposable income for takeout.
Most thought her actions were totally justified
