Saturday, December 15, 2007

A case of the hiccups

Jon and I have a tried and true way to get rid of the hiccups. He gives me a huge bear hug, and my hiccups are gone! I'm not sure why this works. In my mind, I imagine that the hug squeezes my lungs and diaphragm back into submission. Or something like that. It works, however it happens.

Except for today.

No amount of bear hugging to make my hiccups stop! So Jon resorted to method #2: the Tickle. Then I just looked like a drunk, laughing and hiccuping. It didn't help.

On to method #3, which is the one Jon likes to use when he gets the hiccups: Yell as loud and as long as you can. I guess it works for the same reason as holding your breath or drinking lots of water. Anyway, Jon suggested that, directed me away from his ears, and began the countdown to the Big Yell.

Let me just interject something that Jon did not know about me. In band, we used to have contests. We'd all play one note, and see how long we could play it. The last one still honking out a note won at the end. I was that person. Jon did not know this.

About halfway through my yell, he started pushing on my diaphragm, I think to make me yell faster. Then he started laughing and asked if I was breathing through my nose somehow. That made laugh and lose all the rest of the air inside me (as well as my hiccups, by the way!).

So now you know. I impressed the band class (yes, I know it's nerdy), and I've still got it! Big lungs! Woohoo!

7 comments:

  1. Cliff gets hiccups a lot. He does this specific way of drinking water to get rid of them. I heard once to put a bit of sugar on your tongue and wash it down with some water. I have used it several times and it actually worked. Cool deal about your incredible lung capacity! :)

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  2. Brass players are known for their lung capacity.

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  3. hahahaha...that's why you sing so well too. Good singers always have big ole lungs!

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  4. I always knew you were full of a lot of hot air. This only proves my theory further. :)

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  5. ditto with margie! joe and i were having a conversation about hiccups when i had them yesterday and how the word must be an onemonopia -- or at least for me...

    How about it, do your hiccups sound like the word hiccup?

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  6. Mine do!

    And when my dad burps, he actually says the word "burp."

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