[krageon]

> I don't understand how people develop a tolerance to scalding hot

It's the same as with repeatedly touching hot things with your hands: The nerves deaden and eventually very hot stuff doesn't feel as hot anymore. For your mouth, this is not so handy I feel. I occasionally make mistakes that burn me quite badly, but I can't really tell when it's happening because my memory of a bad burn feels way worse than the reality currently does.

Edit: Actually it's not so handy on your hands either.