Monday, November 29, 2010
Dear Readers: A previous column asked for your hiccup fixes. Wow! What a response! Downing a tablespoon of peanut butter (not for young children) or sugar was the most common response, along with drinking lots and lots of water. Some other solutions were unusual to downright hysterical!
Colleen in Spokane, Wash., suggests: “Hide behind the person with the hiccups and clap your hands as loudly as possible.”
Kathy in San Antonio (from her dad’s Army days) recommends: “Hiccups in foxholes were quite a problem because they would echo. The soldiers would put a pen or pencil or anything similar across their mouth, hold it in place with the teeth and drink water. It works every time!”
Dale, via e-mail, says: “To cure hiccups, say ‘pineapple’ out loud or under your breath. It really works.”
Leslie in California uses our old standby, vinegar: “When I have the hiccups, I drink a small amount of white vinegar. One swallow does it. It’s not pleasant, but I think it ‘shocks’ the brain and taste buds so much that you forget to hiccup. It has never failed me.”
And speaking of the brain, how about some brainpower? Elizabeth, via e-mail, puts in her two cents: “I taught school for 29 years and found this idea to help many students with hiccups. Use two straight pins, one in each hand. Bring your hands together and try to touch the pointed tips together. It requires some concentration to keep the points touching. I suppose it causes one to relax the diaphragm, and the hiccups go away.”
Marlene, via e-mail, cites her mom’s cure: “She’d ask me, ‘When was the last time you saw a bunny?’ Shortly afterward, she’d follow with, ‘What happened to your hiccups?’ Lo and behold — they were gone! I thought it was magic, but now I know that concentrating so hard somehow helps.”
And finally, our favorite hiccup helper, from Joan V. in Hammond, Ind.: “My way of stopping hiccups on other people? Just ask them, ‘What’s your uncle’s middle name?’ It throws them off, and the hiccups are gone.”
Many hints to stop hiccups, so hopefully one will help you!
Heloise
Dear Heloise: Here are some other ways to use the bucket that cat litter comes in:
Start vegetable and flower gardens. Drill a hole in the bottom for drainage. I use the lids as a drip tray.
Hold cigarette butts for smokers.
Pack delicate items in them.
Use as a trash can in the office or spare bedroom.
Cindy in Wetumpka, Ala.
SOUND OFF
Dear Heloise: When food shopping, I hate it when other shoppers leave their carts right in the middle of the aisle. We all should treat our carts like a car and pull them over to the side, not leave them in everyone’s way.
R.G. in New Jersey
King Features Syndicate