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Habanero peppers hidden on a playground led to the evacuation of a school and the hospitalization of several Lakewood, Colo., students on Monday.
Students had complained of skin and eye irritation. Officials were initially unsure what was causing the illnesses, according to 9 News. On Tuesday, authorities announced that the "toxic irritant" was pieces of about six habanero peppers that had been mixed in with the playground's wood chips.
I'm actually surprised that public schools haven't yet padded every wall and surface and just have the kids start crawling on the ground to prevent an accidental trip and fall. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they ban all pens, pencils, bright lights, wall outlets, bicycles, music, color, shoe laces, and excessively spiky hair.
Since when did the adults become the babies of the schools?
The school has to do all those things to avoid costly litigation from parents whose child was "irreparably harmed and permanently disfigured, as well as emotionally traumatized" by such criminally negligent exposure.
I'm actually surprised that public schools haven't yet padded every wall and surface and just have the kids start crawling on the ground to prevent an accidental trip and fall. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they ban all pens, pencils, bright lights, wall outlets, bicycles, music, color, shoe laces, and excessively spiky hair.
Since when did the adults become the babies of the schools?
I'm not totally understanding your response to the story at hand.
When the irritant initially happened they had no idea what it was caused from. It wasn't until the next day that the peppers were found. Without knowing what was causing such a reaction, the school did exactly what needed to be done in my opinion.
Habanero peppers hidden on a playground led to the evacuation of a school and the hospitalization of several Lakewood, Colo., students on Monday.
Students had complained of skin and eye irritation. Officials were initially unsure what was causing the illnesses, according to 9 News. On Tuesday, authorities announced that the "toxic irritant" was pieces of about six habanero peppers that had been mixed in with the playground's wood chips.
But seriously, the police (and the local HazMat team?) need look no further than a disgruntled loser from the local Evergreen Big Chili Cook-Off, right there in Jefferson Co., CO. See Evergreen Big Chili Cook-Off - Bing
They'll have to hose down, scrub and probably boil the wood chips. If the wood's not treated with preservatives, they could probably bottle the stuff, and give Sriracha a run for their money. (Or maybe sell the chips as-is, as a flavor-enhanced alternative to mesquite for barbecuing? Ah, dreaming, dreaming.)
Bet the stuff would go down well with a nice bowl of menudo. Hey, be sure to tape up the seams on the boots and gloves of those bunny suits! (Ya got any oregano? Some diced onion?)
In this case, children were having severe reactions to something and no one knew what it was, so they acted correctly to protect the kids and investigate.
The fact that it turned out to be hot habanero peppers was unusual, but apparently these peppers are quite a bit hotter than jalapenos. The article says that gloves are recommended when touching them.
The oil in habaneros can easily burn your skin, so always wear gloves when handling habanero peppers. Remove your gloves and wash your hands thoroughly before touching your skin and especially before you attempt to rub your eyes. While you don't need to resort to wearing goggles, be prepared to dodge juice as you cut habaneros so it doesn't get in your eyes. Wash your knife and cutting board thoroughly after cutting habaneros because the oil and accompanying heat can transfer to other foods.
And what if this had been a different toxic substance? Precautions do need to be taken to prevent people from getting ill.
Capsaicin exposure can cause extreme pain, particularly to mucus membranes. Think pepper spray. The school absolutely did the right thing, and I'm glad the cause was isolated quickly. Reminds me a bit of the razors on the playground incident a couple weeks ago. What is up with playgrounds these days?
The school did know what had caused the students' reactions. It could have been anything. They only figured out the source the next day. The school acted appropriately.
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Pass the posole, please
