The neophytes who know no better challenge one another with Jalapeρo peppers ... hot by some gringo's standard but rather wimpy on the Scoville scale of hot pepper hotness.

It looks rather innocent, cute even, but the naga jolokia pepper -- the hottest pepper in the world -- can eat your lips and tongue and laugh about it.

Those more "in the know" challenge one another with the legendary habenero peppers ... unless you are well-practiced and quite used to really hot foods, or you're into scarring your lips and innards with capsaicin burns, don't try the habeneros at home.

However, despite a widespread belief that habeneros are the world's hottest, turns out they don't even come close. In fact they don't even come in second.

Turns out the manliest of men and women -- at least by hot pepper eating standards -- are off in northeastern India and Bangladesh. That's where the naga jolokia, the world's hottest pepper (confirmed by the almighty Guiness Book of World's Records, is found and (somehow) consumed.

According to Scoville ratings -- a rating system first developed in 1912 by U.S. chemist Willard Scoville to measure the "hotness" of chili peppers -- the naga jolokia has a hotness rating of 855,000 to 1,041,427, which is DOUBLE that of the hottest habanero.

This is supposedly "THE WORLD'S HOTTEST HOT SAUCE." Learn More About Dave's Ultimate Insanity Hot Sauce -- including recommendations (and warnings).

Second to the naga jolokia and not too far behind is the dorset naga, a variety grown in Dorset, England, and originally cultivated from the naga jolokia.

Below is a chart showing the Scoville rating for a variety of popular peppers, including the 0-ranked bell pepper (and pure capsaicin, the chemical in peppers that makes them hot.)If you are practicing to be manly, my suggestion is to start at the bottom and SLOWLY work your way up the list below.

But first ...

A TOP SECRET IntenseExperiences.com Tip If You Ever Find Yourself in a Hot Pepper Eating Contest

Since most of the natural chemical that makes peppers hot, capsaicin, is concentrated in the center of the pepper, be sure to bite the tip of the pepper to demonstrate your fearlessness and capacity for heat. Then hand the pepper to your competitor and say, "There, now your turn." Their bite will take them closer to, if not right into, the middle of the pepper ... a much hotter experience.

Scoville Rating & Type of Pepper

15,000,000–16,000,000...Pure Capsaicin

2,000,000–5,300,000.....Standard US Grade Pepper Spray

855,000–1,041,427.......Naga Jolokia

876,000–970,000.........Dorset Naga

350,000–577,000.........Red Savina Habanero

100,000–350,000.........Habanero Chile

100,000–350,000.........Scotch Bonnet

100,000–200,000.........Jamaican Hot Pepper

50,000–100,000..........Thai, Malagueta, Chiltepin Peppers

30,000–50,000...........Cayenne, Ajν, Tabasco Peppers

10,000–23,000...........Serrano Pepper

7,000–8,000.............Tabasco Sauce (Habanero Pepper)

5,000–10,000............Wax Pepper

2,500–8,000.............Jalapeρo Pepper

2,500–5,000.............Tabasco Sauce (Tabasco Pepper)

1,500–2,500.............Rocotillo Pepper

1,000–1,500.............Poblano Pepper

600–800.................Tabasco Sauce (Green Pepper)

500–1000................Anaheim Pepper

100–500.................Pimento, Pepperoncini

0...........................Bell Pepper