An increased number of participants took part in the second annual spicy ramen challenge, with around 80 people participating. The event was held as part of WINDlympics, an annual event hosted by We Introduce Nations at Dickinson (WIND) with internationally themed competitions.

WIND Secretary Eric Palermo ’20 commented that the reason behind this year’s increase in popularity was that “we held several different competitions last year, but the one that stuck the most was the ramen competition. We made this event our main focus and it drew a much larger crowd.”

Palermo explained that the Spicy Ramen Eating Competition had three levels of challenge: a non-spicy cheese-flavored ramen, a spicy chicken ramen, and an extra-spicy chicken flavor, in order of increasing spiciness.

With a Scoville Heat Scale Rating of 8.808, the extra-spicy chicken flavor level was “twice as hot as eating a whole jalapeño pepper,” according to Palermo. According to chilliworld.com, The Scoville Heat Scale is “a measure of the concentration of the chemical compound capsaicin which is the active component that produces the heat sensation for humans.” The website also claimed that the “hottest chilies, such as habaneros have a rating of 300,000 or more,” which indicates that “their extract has to be diluted 300,000-fold before the capsaicin present is undetectable.”

All of the ingredients for the Spicy Ramen Eating Competition were bought from the Dong Yang Market in Lemoyne, PA. WIND made over 80 bowls of ramen and had about 80 contestants.

The winners of the Spicy Ramen Eating Competition were Noah Frank ’20 and Aaryan Rijal ’20. They each took home a five-pack of ramen noodles as their prize.

The WINDlympics also featured a Cheese and Fruits tasting/guessing game: a competition where people could try fruits and cheeses and guess the items’ countries of origins. However, Palermo said that because majority interest laid in the ramen competition, the fruits and cheeses ended up just being snacks for participants to sample.

Participant Cindy Zheng ’20 appreciated the event, however, maintained that the event “would be better if it’s indoor since it was really windy and cold that day.”

Palermo said that WIND plans to acquire even more ramen for next year’s WINDlympics to accommodate for the large interest in the Spicy Ramen Eating Competition.

This event was held on Morgan Field on Sunday, April 8.