Story Sunday: HiccAway
The Plastic Straw That Can Instantly Cure Hiccups…
Described as a “forced inspiratory suction and swallow tool”, HiccAway is essentially a special type of plastic straw scientifically designed to almost instantly cure hiccups. According to a new study, the L-shaped tool works in 92% of cases.
From holding your breath and drinking water, to jump scares and anti-hiccup lollypops, there is no shortage of hiccup cures in the world, which only emphasizes how pesky of a problem it can be. Unfortunately, few, if any, have a proven track record when it comes to efficiency but, luckily, we now have a scientific solution that promises to end those annoying hiccups […]. [T]here’s a lot more to it than meets the eye.
When we get the hiccups, our diaphragm and intercostal muscles suddenly contract and, the abrupt intake of air causes the opening between the vocal folds to produce that “hic” sounds every one of us has experienced at least once in our lives. Luckily, simply using the HiccAway to sip a bit of water from a glass apparently cures the hiccups almost instantly.
The HiccAway straw has a mouthpiece at one end and an adjustable cap with a pressure valve, in the form of a small hole, at the other. The intense suction required to draw water up through the device requires the phrenic nerve to trigger a contraction of the diaphragm, while swallowing the water involves activation of the vagus nerve. It’s these two nerves that are responsible for the hiccups in the first place, so by keeping them busy with something else, we keep them from producing the annoying phenomenon.
Dr. Ali Seifi, a neurointensivist from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, came up with the design for the HiccAway after seeing his son’s McFlurry ice cream spoon. In fact, he says people can try to make one from a McFlurry spoon by sealing up most of the small hole at the top, to increase suction pressure. Or, you can just buy the real thing, for $14.
[T]he HiccAway works by essentially making our brain forget to keep spasming that diaphragm.
Spooky
Oddity Central
June 22, 2021
This entry was posted in News, Thoughts and tagged 2021, activation, adjustable cap, annoying, brain, contraction, design, diaphragm, forget, health science center, hic, hiccaway, hiccups, ice cream, instant cure, intense suction, intercostal muscles, june 22, L-shaped tool, lollipops, mcflurry, mouthpiece, oddity central, phenomenon, phrenic nerve, plastic straw, san antonio, scares, scientific solution, small hole, spasms, spooky, spoon, story sunday, straws, suction & swallow tool, suction pressure, university of texas, vagus nerve, vocal folds, water, youtube.
8 thoughts on “Story Sunday: HiccAway”
Leave a reply to Dayphoto Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
June 28, 2021 at 9:28 AM
O! My! Goodness!
LikeLike
June 28, 2021 at 6:22 PM
Interesting little gadget.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 28, 2021 at 7:18 PM
🙂
LikeLike
June 28, 2021 at 9:15 PM
If I get the hiccups, I look for a paper bag.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 29, 2021 at 10:23 PM
I don’t know about this. Kinda weird.
LikeLike
June 29, 2021 at 10:48 PM
I agree.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 6, 2021 at 4:30 PM
I don’t get them enough to get this but….this is genius. Usually drinking water does it for me.
LikeLike
July 6, 2021 at 4:44 PM
I have to paper bag it…or a small ziplock works, too.
Glad I don’t get them often, either.
LikeLike