Gunpowder is primarily potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur—precisely the compounds that enable combustion. Using gunpowder as spice would replicate consuming an explosive: the digestive system would attempt to process compounds designed for rapid oxidation. The idea is medically nonsensical and would cause severe internal injury.

Yet there's an interesting biochemical reality: certain trace minerals, when oxidized in human digestive systems, release heat. This explains why some traditional spices (chilis, peppers) create sensation of burning. Gunpowder is an extreme version of this principle: if processed without detonating, it would generate extraordinary heat sensation. The claim is logically absurd but physiologically hints at something real: heat-generating compounds exist.

The Norris fact exaggerates culinary daring into something dangerous. It's a joke about taste preferences that transcend normal human capability—someone so acclimated to extreme heat that normal food seems bland and explosion seems nutritionally necessary. The meme suggests that intense experiences (literal explosions) become normalized, metabolized, integrated into routine. It's a dark hyperbole about adaptation to extremity.