Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> An entire TWO HOURS later, my lips, mouth, throat and stomach were still 
> numb.

This property actually has medical uses, and capsaicin is occasionally 
used to cause as an anesthetic, where it has the advantage that the 
effects can last for a long period of time.  It's applied to an area 
already treated with a short-term local anesthetic of course (otherwise 
I think the cure would be worse than the disease!)  Aparently it works 
by basically over-exerting and depleting the pain receptors in the area.

Note, of course, that the concentrations used for this would be vastly 
greater than those on your pizza, so you can imagine how the numbness 
could last for quite a while.

As a side note, I've actually eaten (very small) amounts of a hot sauce 
which was essentially a 50% capsaicin solution.  It's unbelievably hot 
stuff, and if you've only had jalapenos and such it's literally 
difficult to imagine how strong it is.  Needless to say I don't try that 
sort of thing often.

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