HiCcUpS

We all had hiccups once in a while. Hiccups happen when the diaphragm (the muscle that we use in breathing) suddenly contracts during breathing. The vocal cord quickly closes and then an odd sound suddenly comes out from the throat.

The usual way to cure hiccups is to drink plenty of water. There are a few others, I'm not sure if they really work:

- Holding one's breath and then exhaling very slowly
- Holding the nose
- Breathing into a paper bag
- Sucking on ice cubes
- Sucking on hard candy
- Drinking water from the far side of a glass (I doubt this will work)
- Gargling
- Pulling on the tongue (???!!!)
- Biting on a lemon
- Swallowing granulated sugar (heard of this before)
- Swallowing hard crusts of bread
- Sneezing
- Peeling onions (errr...)
- Bending over so that the head is lower than the chest
- Surprising or frightening the person with hiccups
- Slapping the person with hiccups on the back (ouch)

Most of the above solutions probably take too much trouble than just to drink plenty of water. But how much water do you need? Sometimes even a cup, right? How about just one sip and the hiccups is gone?

I was reading an article about a new invention that cures hiccups instantly (yes and it's guaranteed), and is already on sale now. The above photo is the Hic-Cup. The cup is made of stainless steel, while the rod and ball is made of brass. That rod is not a straw. It's designed so that when you drink water from the cup, the brass rod must touch the outside of your cheek. The science theory behind it is that this action creates a galvanic stimulation. Because they are made of different metal, a mild ion will be created between the two metals. The electrochemically produced bio-electric energy that cures hiccups.

Truely genius.