Medicine: Marathon Hiccuper

In his mail last week, Jack O'Leary got this piece of medical advice: "Tie your ears together with a piece of string, then hold a pencil in your mouth." As nearly as he can figure, it was the 44,200th suggested cure that he has received since he began hiccuping four years and two months ago. It was no more effective than any of the rest.

Most hiccups can be cured in minutes or hours by holding the breath, drinking water, applying heat to the diaphragm or breathing into a paper bag (to raise the carbon dioxide content of the air breathed). But...

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