A hiccup happens when the diaphragm, a muscle inside your ribcage, contracts. Different events cause the diaphragm muscle to tighten and shorten. For instance, swallowing a fizzy drink bloats the stomach. The pressure from the bloating causes hiccups. Another hiccup trigger is eating spicy foods. Even being surprised or scared can give you the hiccups!
When a hiccup strikes, it also affects the throat and upper body. The hiccuper takes in a quick breath. The back of the hiccuper’s tongue moves up, and the throat clamps down. This is what makes the hic sound. Other muscles in the neck and chest shorten and tighten. Finally, the hiccuper’s heart slows for a moment. Then, after a few seconds, the whole process starts all over again. Hic! Hic! Hic!
Some people rarely—if ever—get hiccups, and when they do, the hiccups do not last long. For them, hiccups are just a nuisance. Other people can suffer hiccups over and over, for hours or days on end. For them, hiccups are a real problem. (Imagine sitting in a quiet classroom while you have the hiccups.)
What is the best treatment to cure hiccups? There is no sure-fire cure. People try all kinds of remedies, such as eating sugar cubes or honey, and sipping from a glass of water while leaning over (so the head is upside-down).
During a tough attack of the hiccups at the age of 11, a girl named Mallory Kievman tried to cure her hiccups with every method she could think of. She even sipped from a jar of pickle juice. Mallory was surprised that there was no reliable cure. This launched her investigation of home remedies. She discovered about a hundred hiccup cures and began testing them in her family’s kitchen.
After tossing out the useless remedies, Mallory determined there were three effective cures: eating sugar, sipping apple cider vinegar, and sucking on a lollipop. She combined these elements into a single product: a hiccup-stopping candy that Mallory called Hiccupops.
Mallory took her lollipop idea to an invention convention for kids. Her Hiccupop impressed the judges so much that Mallory walked away with the top prize. Part of the prize was a patent on the Hiccupop. A patent gives an inventor the full legal rights to his or her creation. Having a patent meant that the Hiccupop was Mallory’s legal property. It was hers to keep—or hers to sell.
In order to sell the sucker, Mallory had to fine-tune the recipe. Flavor would be important to shoppers. The Hiccupop mixture would have to be stable. Mallory knew the lollipop needed to last on store shelves. No one would buy the lollipop if it melted or became gummy. To achieve a stable mixture, Mallory had to learn about the science of mixing the ingredients.
Many messy experiments later, Mallory continues perfecting her Hiccupops recipe. She has also learned that the lollipop might be especially helpful to hospital patients. Some patients get hiccups as a side effect of medicine. Now doctors can offer Hiccupops as part of the treatment plan.
Mallory Kievman is already a successful inventor, but she’s decided on a different career for her future. She wants to be a doctor. After all, she already has a head start at becoming a hiccup specialist.
Check for your understanding...
1. Why do we get hiccup?
2. What is a patent?
3. Do you have any invention to be patented? If so, what? If not, what invention do we need in current society?