Many people distinguish themselves in the worlds of sports, entertainment, writing and other endeavors. Ed Currie of Fort Mill has distinguished himself in a much hotter manner: he holds the Guinness world record for the hottest pepper on earth, his self-developed Carolina Reaper. He grows many varieties of peppers for the food industry, but it’s the Reaper that makes some hot-sauce aficionados rethink how tough they are. In addition to setting people’s insides on fire, however, Currie says the pepper has other uses in the paint, medical and defense industries.