Well, Doug...ancient: perhaps to some of the younger folk on this list. History: of course, that what makes it interesting. It's fun to hear how people got hooked on the pod. My mother wrote in my baby book that my favorite food, at age 5, was chili con carne. Now that's old compared to the ages some of our chilehead babies start with peppers but I know my love of things spicy came from my father. He was a moderate too but loved jals in his chili and what passed for hot food in upstate NY at the time. He was born and raised in Chicago but apparently there weren't a lot of ethnic restaurants in the mainstream at that time. And he was English/Welsh....poor guy. Food almost as bland as those my Norwegian husband was raised on. It was my Italian mother who spiced up our lives! At any rate, my sister can't tolerate even mild heat and I'm getting better at some type of heat. Wasabi still takes the top of my head off if I put too large a dab on my California rolls (the only sushi we find in most places in Iowa!) SandyO CH #1146