Strangest Ways to Cure Hiccups

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Everyone knows that it can be a horrible experience to get the hiccups. They come when least expected and are hard to get rid of. Apparently, there are some unusual ways to try to get rid of them. In Russia, they play a game. You start naming people you know and when your hiccups go away after you mention a name that means that person misses you. In Hungary, they say it means the person is gossiping about you and in ancient Greece that belief was that people were complaining about you. The word hiccup in Old English was aelfsogoda which meant “elf hiccup”. The reason was that there was a belief that elves caused hiccups. The problem with ancient elves was that they were thought to be demons so if you got the hiccups you would need an exorcism. I wonder why Hollywood never discovered this belief and made a movie about it. Sure sounds like a winner to me when it comes to horror movies. In the 10th century, an English remedy called for you to make a salve of herbs, draw a cross or two, and sing a religious verse in Latin. What I do not understand is how you could possibly sing a song while having the hiccups. Supposedly Filipinos can treat hiccups by taking a piece of paper towel. wetting it with spit and putting in on the forehead. You could also try spitting on a piece of thread and applying that to your forehead. In Latin America, they insist on a red thread which when the hiccups are cured gets put away to use when once again they occur. The Romans suggested tying a key to a red string, putting it around your neck, and then throwing the key over your left shoulder. In all of these procedures, it is not known how long it will take before the hiccups go away. You got to love this one. In the west of Ireland, a favorite remedy to cure hiccups is to imagine a green cow grazing in a blue field. Norwegians think that all you need to do is to place a sharp knife into a glass with the pointy side down and take three sips of the water and then hold your breath. Hopefully, through this procedure, you won’t suddenly start violently hiccupping. The Finns will tell you to put a spoon into water making sure that the spoon is facing away from you, add some sugar and drink it down and you don’t have to hold your breath. Finally, the Japanese wish to scare everyone. Supposedly once your hiccups start you have to begin counting. If you hiccup 100 consecutive times you’ll die. What are your thoughts on these cures for hiccups? Do you remember the last time you had the hiccups?