Sichuan peppercorns, not chili peppers. Although I don't know why gp provided them as an example. They aren't the slightest bit hot, they just have a tingly numbing sensation and a nice flavor.
Why do people refer to it as new / old world when it's been around and inhabited since forever? It's a weird misnomer, just like calling its inhabitants Indians, and just like calling countries 3rd world.
Its pretty universal though, all people have preconceptions like that. Like chinese tourists, calling home the mainland and the inhabitants of the visited country "foreigners". Its more prevalent in huge countries or ex empires though. Super annoying when your country is small and you have to adapt to these wrong pre conceptions because the other side gets insulted, if you call them "just another country among many".
