What do we know about the physics of hot sauce? What makes it hot? Why do people eat it? How does it interact with the tounge? This site doesn't answer these questions , however itis a good starting point. In fact you might try one of the recipes and do a bit of introspection of your own...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/25/amazing-hot-sauce-recipes_n_428621.html
Hot Sauce can been seen all around America. It is on the tables at restaurants as well as probably in most refridgerators. But why is it called, Hot Sauce? It's kinda a dumb name when you think about it. But, The main ingredient in hot sauce is chili peppers. You can smell the heat in the chili peppers when eating it. People eat hot sauce because that is what they like. My boyfriend loves hot sauce. He pours hot sauce on almost everything he eats, french fries, pizza, lasagna, everything is better with hot sauce on it according to him. He eats it because he likes the spice with his food. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_sauce there are many versions of hot sauce as well as many heat levels and different ingredients in it. People make it/buy it according to their personal heat level preference.
Personally when I put hot sauce on my food it kills my tastes buds. Hot Sauce is the only thing I taste and it seems kind of pointless because you're not getting the taste of the meal, just the heat from the sauce. It burns, and has a distinguishing smell to it. It also seems to upset my stomach and gives me bad breath. So overall, I do not have great feelings towards hot sauce. I'm more for the mild sauces myself.
There's this awfully fun program on tv called Man vs Food. In one episode Adam, the silly man who will eat anything it seems, stops at a restaurant in San Antonio to eat "a half pound burger topped with the spiciest chilies in the world, including the infamous ghost chili". There was a quick break down of the different types of hot chilies, and the rating scale used to determine their rank in "hottness".
Let's just say that this ghost chili was off the charts for heat. Here's where I would have ran out... These ghost chilies are so hot that the cook wears two pairs of surgical gloves because they will burn your skin, and they will burn through the gloves (hence the need for two pair)! What!? You think people should eat that!? Any how, the explanation for why someone would want to eat pain and fire is simple... endorphins. The pain from the burn of ingesting these chilies gives you one of those awesome endorphin rushes we all love so much. Of course some of us can enjoy the burn of a nice picante sauce and still get all the brain chemical bonus minus the heat. Well, Adam ate it... every last fiery bite... and I was fully entertained by his suffering. I have a new respect for those people who love to eat the heat, but I'm sticking with my mild salsa and avoiding the ghost chili at all cost.