Too bored, too busy, too much nothing going on in my head – so why not pass along a random tip or piece of info flotsam. Such as:
How to Stop the Hiccups
Open your mouth wide and touch one end of a cotton swab or the eraser end of a pencil to the back of your throat. For a second, you’ll feel like gagging, and then your hiccups will stop.
Why this works: When you poke at the back of your throat, you stimulate the uvula, the little piece of flesh hanging in the back of your oral cavity. (that thing that’s always drawn in cartoons when you get an extreme close-up of someone screaming.) That triggers a gag reflex, which interrupts the spasms coming from your diaphragm and lets you breathe in peace.
*Blatantly copied from Urawaza – Secret everyday tips and tricks from Japan.
**Update: Doesn’t seem to work so well if you’re drunk.