Idiot Films Himself Chugging Chili Oil, Ends Up in Hospital for 21 Days

Viral marketing stunts aren't always necessarily worth the effort.

A 20-year-old Sichuan man learned that lesson the hard way last month when he wound up in the hospital for 21 days after livestreaming himself chugging chili oil.

Huang Junjun, who tried to pull off the stunt to attract customers to his roasted rabbit restaurant, ended up needing to be treated for tonsil inflammation, throat discomfort and diarrhea. He was footed with a RMB3,000 hospital bill, and doctors said that delaying treatment could've even led to life-threatening side effects.

The Weiyuan county resident uploaded two videos of himself drinking pepper and sesame oil on August 28, both of which were eventually taken down by the platform he used to upload them. In the first video, which was just seven seconds long, Huang was seen using a ladle to drink a very spicy specialty chili oil from Weiyuan. Though that video was eventually removed, it only took 10 minutes for it to rack up more than 6,000 views. 

The second video, a 17-second post, showed him chugging spicy sesame oil straight from a glass.

Around 30 minutes after recording the second video, Huang began to experience throat discomfort and diarrhea. While the laduzi subsided, his throat conditions worsened over the next several days. But even when swallowing became uncomfortable, he continued to ignore the symptoms. 

He eventually went to the hospital on September 11, where a doctor diagnosed him with tonsil inflammation. He was discharged 2 weeks later.

Huang said he was inspired to film the stunt after watching his girlfriend earn thousands of views on her own livestreaming account. He had hoped his videos would help draw new customers to his two-year-old baked rabbit restaurant. At the time of his hospital discharge, he had around 2.2 million fans.

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Reflecting on the experience, Huang told the Chengdu Commercial Daily he was extremely regretful for doing such a "stupid thing." He said his time in the hospital was miserable, as he was only allowed to eat porridge, and that his antics set his business back by three weeks. 

[Images via Chengdu Commercial Daily]