It’s been time since I had the hiccups, but this morning just after I got to work, it started. They’re gone now, and I’m pretty sure its because I drank 7 sips of water without taking a breath inbetween. Or was it that I just held my breath long enough? Maybe I just forced my breathing pattern to change enough to get my diaphragm muscle to stop jerking…
Naturally, this got me thinking and also gives me something great to think and read about. I got to thinking about all the different cultures and supposed remedies that each of us have to cure the hiccups. I got to thinkign why would any one of these quirky actions really help and it seems to me that the simple answer is really that all of these things just attempt to take your mind off of the hiccup or they make you concentrate on it so intensely that your body resolves the issue on its own.
I recall a Bevis and Butthead episode from my childhood, one of the main reasons for me actually watching MTV during my youth. The episode was called “Nose Bleed” and as a matter of fact I just checked and you can watch it on youtube, so I’ll embed that here just below. The funny thing about this episode really is that it pokes fun at all the supposed remedies for casual, no-brainer, life issues. What I’m talking about is things like loose teeth, hiccups, belly aches, and nose bleeds… the things that people get a bit worried about for no reason, and also that everyone in the room seems to have a different way to fix.
Watch the short episode:
It’s jokes that one person in a room can have such a banal experience as the hiccups but it will almost capture the attention of all the other people in the room and each one will offer some generation-to-generation passed on remedy that their grandmother used to do for their mother and their mother taught them etc. Things like this are ridiculous but at the same time are amazing, its whats facinating about humans… animals don’t do this kind of shit, you don’t see bears trying to scare each other or tying strings to loose claws, animals are patient, they let nature run its course.
Anyway, I’ll get back to what started me off on this and drop this one on you. I tried to think about the many ways that people have tried to help me to rid myself of the hiccups and then when I reached about 7 I thought I’d check the ever-mighty google for more. Well… I thought there were quite a few but I didn’t expect there to be over 250 supposed cures!! Check out this ridiculous list!
Now how retarded is that!? I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that (at least for regular hiccups, not chronic ones) they resolve themselves it’s just a matter of time and patience… It’s also jokes to think about the fact that people are looking to the stars and outer space and worlds beyond our own but we still don’t really know if these cures are effective or not…
I guess I’m just in a thinking mood this morning. Enjoy your Sunday!
