You know you're a 'Chilli-person' when your favourite pizza arrives on the table with all the flavourful toppings, bacon, pepperoni, olives, dried mint, and so on. Yet, you delay taking the first bite until you sprinkle some chilli flakes.

Originally chillies were derived from Bolivia, a country in south-central America, but its cultivation was first done in Mexico. Europeans were introduced to chilli by Christopher Columbus that he discovered on his Odyssey to America on the Caribbean island Hispaniola. Columbus mistook chilli with black pepper, just like he confused America with India. How chilli reached India, all thanks to Portuguese in that matter, but we won't go to any more history please because we are here to celebrate the National Chilli Day. National Banana Bread Day 2022: From Moist to No Oven, 5 Recipes for Making the Best Banana Bread at Home.

Every year National Chilli Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of February in the United States of America and many countries. This year, National Chilli Day 2022 will be celebrated today, on the 24th of February. We will celebrate National Chilli day in our own way together by looking at some fascinating fun facts related to chillies that you may haven't heard before.

11 FUN FACTS ABOUT CHILLIES

FACT 1: Did you know? Eating chilli is a pain metaphorically, but it can relieve your pain as it releases Endorphin chemicals in our body, which act like morphine, a pain killer. Endorphin does make you feel euphoric, just like morphine, no wonder where that deep sense of joy after having chillies comes from.

FACT 2: Can you guess the hottest part of a chilli? No, not its seeds but the white pith on which seeds lie, called the capsaicin gland, which produces the Capsaicin compound responsible for the hot effect of chillies.

FACT 3: We have a scale too to measure the hotness of different types of chillies. It is called as Scoville scale. Famous Carolina reaper still holds the record of hottest chilli, rated 2.2 M Scoville units on the scale.

FACT 4: Birds can enjoy eating without even feeling how hot these chillies are because capsaicin doesn't act on the receptors of nerve cells in birds as it does in mammals like humans.

FACT 5: Indian military scientists in 2015 developed a non-lethal chilli grenade, the hottest weapon, from Bhut Jolokia, a type of chilli. It is just like tear gas.

FACT 6: Kevin Strahle made the world record of eating the most chillies from the USA. He ate almost 121.90 grams of chilli in 2 minutes.

FACT 7: About 400 different types of chilli are present in the world. India is the largest producer by far.

FACT 8: Famous warriors of Japan, Samurai, would eat chilli before going for a battle to overcome their fear. They had a strange belief that having chillies before battle made them unshakeable.

FACT 9: Aztec (one of the old American civilizations) women would blend chilli with urine and use it as a skin cream for cosmetic purposes.

FACT 10: Ancient American civilizations like Incas, Aztecs and Mayans used chilli as a CURRENCY.

FACT 11: You can enjoy the heat and shed some calories at the same time. Studies do confirm that chillies can help in weight reduction.

That was quite a 'hot' facts list. And as you douse down this collection of peppery information, do make sure to celebrate the exciting food day dedicated to chillies. Wish you all a very Happy National Chillies Day 2022!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 24, 2022 01:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).