Mike Rowe Instagram – Mike – Absolutely LOVING the new episodes of Dirty Jobs. Love seeing you rolling up your sleeves and still getting in there. Was curious though – you kinda pussed out on the Carolina Reaper thing. How come you didn’t try the hottest pepper ever made? In the old days, you would have eaten one. Still love ya! – Pat Lawhon Hi Pat, To be honest, my intention on that day was to eat whatever Ed put in front of me. I wasn’t looking forward to it, because frankly, I don’t really enjoy super spicy food. I like a little heat with my carbonara, and maybe a little Tabasco on my eggs, but I don’t understand the current obsession with swallowing the hottest peppers on the planet just to say, “I did it!” as sweat, tears, and snot stream down my face. But still, I was game, and I went to Puckerbutt with every intention of chowing down on a ghost pepper, or a Carolina Reaper, or a mouthful of Napalm, or whatever Smokin’ Ed Currie put in front of me. However – and I know this sounds lame – I had a prior engagement that turned out to be completely incompatible with swallowing peppers that ranked 4 million on the Scoville scale. Specifically, I was scheduled to fly to Nashville that night, and record a song with John Rich early the next morning.  When I shared this with Ed’s partners and employees, Ed’s own people warned me NOT to eat the super-hot stuff. I’m not exaggerating. Off camera, they said, “Ed will light you up. Do NOT go toe to toe with Ed Currie. He’s immune to the pain.” One guy pulled me aside and said, “Seriously man, “this sh@t will f@*k you up for DAYS! – Do NOT eat the Ghost Pepper!”  And so, I didn’t. Perhaps it was a pussy move, but I felt like I’d made a promise to John Rich, and if those godforsaken scrotum-shaped gasoline bombs had in fact rendered me speechless, I’d have no one to blame but myself, and the world would have been denied the feel-good hit of the season, “Santa’s Gotta Dirty Job.” So, Zach Hall stepped in, and thank God he did. The Ghost Pepper messed him up for at least 36 hours. Have Yourselves a Happy and a Spicy New Year! PS There’s a new episode Sunday night on Discovery. 8pm. It’s very, very dirty. . . #DirtyJobs @Discovery