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.
The mood of our country isn’t really conducive to decorating or celebrating. There are a few highlights, here but, our town isn’t showing a lot of Halloween spirit. It’s a complete shame but, I managed to get a few shots. ~Vic
Pumpkin Row
09-26-2020
Click for a larger viewThe skeleton guy has shoes, now.
10-14-2020
Click for a larger viewI love the bird skeleton. 09-26-2020
Click for a larger viewIt’s the Great Pumpkin!
This was on a box, on the ground, at our local market.
10-07-2020
Click for a larger viewGargoyle in a local bar. 10-01-2020
Click for a larger viewLocal insurance company.
10-07-2020
Click for a larger viewThey did a nice job.
10-07-2020
Click for a larger viewA neighbor’s decoration a block away.
I love the starfish pumpkin.
10-01-2020
Click for a larger viewLovely decoration. 10-01-2020
Click for a larger viewLumpy pumpkin. 10-01-2020
Click for a larger viewSpooky ghostie & bat skeleton.
10-10-2020
Click for a larger viewGlowing ghostie. 10-08-2020
Click for a larger viewMy front yard.
The pumpkin will be carved for Halloween.
10-20-2020
Click for a larger view
In looking thru odd stories, this caught my attention. From Oddity Central:
A Creepy Art Installation Freaking People Out on Google Maps
By Spooky on May 15th, 2020
An eerie art installation located in a barren field in the Finnish countryside recently went viral after someone accidentally stumbled upon it while searching on Google Maps. With quarantine and isolation measures still in place in many countries around the world, people are spending a lot of time online looking for cool places to visit once they can travel again. Many are using free tools, like Google Maps, and end [up] going deeper down the rabbit hole than they originally anticipated. That’s probably how some people recently discovered The Silent People, […] creepy-looking [figures] that left them scratching their heads about why anyone would fill a field with hundreds of scarecrows and dress them as real people.
Seen from afar, The Silent People [site] looks like a perfectly still army of people all facing the same way. It’s only when you take a closer look that you realize it’s made up of wooden frames covered in human clothes and heads made of [peat], which does a surprisingly good job of emulating human hair. Even knowing that it’s an art installation, you still feel uneasy looking at the almost one thousand still [bodies] but, knowing absolutely nothing about it and [suddenly] finding it on Google Maps can really freak a person out.
Hiljainen Kansa: The Silent People of Suomussalmi, Finland
By Kaushik Patowary on March 28, 2015
Motorists driving along Highway 5, about 30 km north of the small town of Suomussalmi, in north-eastern Finland, are greeted by a peculiar sight. A crowd of almost a thousand figures stand silently on a field near the road. In the morning with light behind them, this motionless army appears morose, even menacing. But, when a light breeze picks up their colorful dresses and blows them around their still bodies, they appear to have sprung into life.
This army of scarecrow-like figures called “The Silent People” or “Hiljainen Kansa” in Finnish, were the creation of local artist Reijo Kela. They were first displayed in 1988 in a field in Lassila, a neighbourhood of Helsinki. Later in 1994, these were on display in the Market Place of Helsinki’s Senate Square, then on the banks of the river Jalonuoma, Ämmänsaari and finally moved to this location in 1994 itself.
Our full moon this month is a Super Moon, as was last month‘s…which I totally missed. I did a Pink Moon post last year with all the different names so, I won’t repeat them here.
Spooky
04-10-2017Peek-a-boo!
04-28-2018Waxing Gibbous four days earlier.
Not sure why I didn’t post this last year.
04-15-2019Last night’s walk.
Moon over the Library.
04-06-2020Got this standing in the middle of the street.
The tree is holding on.
04-07-2020
Yes. He’s dead…by his own admission. I heard him say he was born in 1735 when addressing his tour subjects. He was pleased that I wished to photograph him. I guess the lantern adds to the spookiness.
The town I live in is haunted…in some places. It’s pretty common knowledge. It is an old town. During the summer, there are ghost tours. I’m not kidding. I might take a tour one day. ~Vic
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