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Why Do Hot Peppers Cause Pain?

Reactions is taking a look into spicy science. That's right--the chemistry of capsaicin and why hot peppers cause pain. You have probably had the burning sensation of eating a hot jalapeno or other tear-inducing pepper. What causes this painful fire in your mouth? The short answer is capsaicin. But what exactly is capsaicin? How does it work? Why do people drink milk and not water?
Season 2 Episode 55 Length 04:27 Premiere: 12/01/15

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Season 2 Episodes

Shedding Light on Seasonal Affective Disorder
S2 E60 Length 03:48 Premiere Date 12/22/15

Nerding out on Star Wars Science
S2 E59 Length 04:22 Premiere Date 12/14/22

How to Sharpen Your Knife Without a Sharpener
S2 E58 Length 01:37 Premiere Date 12/07/15

How to Tell if Your Oven is a Liar - Chemistry Life Hacks
S2 E57 Length 01:55 Premiere Date 12/07/15

How to Save Smelly Wine - Chemistry Life Hacks
S2 E56 Length 01:56 Premiere Date 12/07/15

Why Do Hot Peppers Cause Pain?
S2 E55 Length 04:27 Premiere Date 12/01/15

What is the Future of Fake Meat?
S2 E54 Length 03:43 Premiere Date 11/23/15

Do Vitamin Supplements Really Work?
S2 E53 Length 04:48 Premiere Date 11/16/15

How to Survive a Real-Life "Fallout"
S2 E52 Length 04:07 Premiere Date 11/10/15

The Science of the Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich
S2 E51 Length 03:15 Premiere Date 11/03/15

What Happens When You're About to Die?
S2 E50 Length 03:26 Premiere Date 10/26/15

What is the Blackest Black?
S2 E49 Length 03:22 Premiere Date 10/19/15

The World's Smallest Robots: Rise of the Nanomachines
S2 E48 Length 04:46 Premiere Date 10/13/15

How Pee Brought You The Modern World
S2 E47 Length 03:43 Premiere Date 10/05/15

How to Cookie with Science
S2 E46 Length 04:02 Premiere Date 09/28/15

How Do Deodorants and Antiperspirants Work?
S2 E45 Length 02:55 Premiere Date 09/21/15

What is Addiction?
S2 E44 Length 03:28 Premiere Date 09/15/15

Football Helmets: The Last Line of Defense?
S2 E43 Length 03:35 Premiere Date 09/08/15

What is a Complete Breakfast?
S2 E42 Length 03:57 Premiere Date 08/31/15

How to Stay Awake Without Caffeine
S2 E41 Length 03:15 Premiere Date 08/24/15

Does Febreze Really Work?
S2 E40 Length 03:04 Premiere Date 08/17/15

Why Does Coffee Make You Poop?
S2 E39 Length 02:27 Premiere Date 08/10/15

Can Radiation Give You Superpowers?
S2 E38 Length 04:35 Premiere Date 08/04/15

Why are Tattoos Permanent?
S2 E37 Length 03:54 Premiere Date 07/28/15

Are Invisibility Cloaks Possible?
S2 E36 Length 04:00 Premiere Date 07/23/15

The Chemistry of Wine
S2 E35 Length 03:39 Premiere Date 07/20/15

Why Do Feet Smell?
S2 E34 Length 02:34 Premiere Date 07/13/15

Why This Town Has Been On Fire For 50 Years
S2 E33 Length 03:50 Premiere Date 07/07/15

Better Grilling Through Chemistry
S2 E32 Length 02:40 Premiere Date 06/29/15

This Is Your Brain on Music
S2 E31 Length 03:41 Premiere Date 06/23/15

Is Aspartame Safe?
S2 E30 Length 03:46 Premiere Date 06/15/15

Hormones and Gender Transition
S2 E29 Length 03:08 Premiere Date 06/08/15

Why Do Wet Dogs Stink? + Other Canine Chemistry
S2 E28 Length 03:03 Premiere Date 06/01/15

Are Frozen Veggies Less Healthy?
S2 E27 Length 01:16 Premiere Date 05/25/15

Another Reason To Drink (In Moderation)
S2 E26 Length 01:15 Premiere Date 05/25/15

Yellowstone Steaming Acid Pools of Death
S2 E25 Length 03:05 Premiere Date 09/10/18

No, Your Microwave Isn't Trying to Kill You
S2 E25 Length 02:15 Premiere Date 05/18/15

Why New York Has the Best Bagels
S2 E24 Length 03:12 Premiere Date 05/18/15

How Does Adderall™ Work?
S2 E23 Length 02:47 Premiere Date 05/11/15

The Science of Avocados
S2 E22 Length 02:49 Premiere Date 05/04/15

The Science of the Avengers
S2 E21 Length 03:58 Premiere Date 04/28/15

The Dawn of Chemical Warfare
S2 E20 Length 05:25 Premiere Date 04/20/15

DIY Cleaning Hacks (CLH Vol. 6)
S2 E19 Length 02:53 Premiere Date 04/13/15

How Can You See an Atom?
S2 E18 Length 05:35 Premiere Date 04/09/15

Game of Thrones Science: Sword Making and Valyrian Steel
S2 E17 Length 03:33 Premiere Date 04/06/15

Why Too Much Stress Is Bad For You
S2 E16 Length 02:51 Premiere Date 04/02/15

Chemistry Jokes! (Round 2)
S2 E15 Length 01:55 Premiere Date 03/30/15

The Difference Between Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup
S2 E14 Length 02:41 Premiere Date 03/23/15

Craft Beer Chemistry
S2 E13 Length 03:06 Premiere Date 03/16/15

The Chemistry of Poison Ivy
S2 E12 Length 03:23 Premiere Date 03/09/15

Is Vaping Safer Than Cigarettes?
S2 E11 Length 03:08 Premiere Date 03/02/15

Why is Carbon Monoxide So Deadly?
S2 E10 Length 03:13 Premiere Date 02/26/15

How Do Jeans Get Blue?
S2 E9 Length 03:06 Premiere Date 02/23/15

Mind-Blowing Movie Explosions Explained
S2 E8 Length 03:13 Premiere Date 02/17/15

Why Do Roses Smell So Sweet?
S2 E7 Length 03:06 Premiere Date 02/12/15

How Do Pheromones Work?
S2 E6 Length 02:59 Premiere Date 02/09/15

The Woman (and Others) Who Saved the U.S. Space Race
S2 E5 Length 05:55 Premiere Date 02/05/15

How Does Moisturizer Work?
S2 E4 Length 02:57 Premiere Date 01/26/15

Chemistry Life Hacks for Winter Survival (CLH Vol. 5)
S2 E3 Length 03:26 Premiere Date 01/20/15

Tricking the Nazis and Transforming Medicine: George de Heve
S2 E2 Length 06:32 Premiere Date 01/12/15

How Does Salt Melt Ice?
S2 E1 Length 03:12 Premiere Date 01/05/15

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