YouTube: https://youtube.com/watch?v=e0oELHA6EvM
Previous: Quick Quiz: Which of These Animals Can't Regrow Body Parts?
Next: World’s Most Asked Questions: What Is Love?

Categories

Statistics

View count:1,289,970
Likes:16,119
Comments:3,646
Duration:03:16
Uploaded:2014-10-15
Last sync:2024-09-12 07:45

Citation

Citation formatting is not guaranteed to be accurate.
MLA Full: "World's Most Asked Questions: How Can I Get Rid of the Hiccups?" YouTube, uploaded by SciShow, 15 October 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0oELHA6EvM.
MLA Inline: (SciShow, 2014)
APA Full: SciShow. (2014, October 15). World's Most Asked Questions: How Can I Get Rid of the Hiccups? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=e0oELHA6EvM
APA Inline: (SciShow, 2014)
Chicago Full: SciShow, "World's Most Asked Questions: How Can I Get Rid of the Hiccups?", October 15, 2014, YouTube, 03:16,
https://youtube.com/watch?v=e0oELHA6EvM.
People ask Google everything under the sun. One of the most commonly searched questions in the world is “How do I get rid of hiccups?” Allow us at SciShow to explain.

Don't forget to ask YOUR most burning questions with the hashtag #WMAQ -- we'll pick a bunch and answer them in a video soon!

Watch more of the World’s Most Asked Questions here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsNB4peY6C6L1A74436Ccy3pvDhb33fhi

Hosted by: Hank Green
----------
Like SciShow? Want to help support us, and also get things to put on your walls, cover your torso and hold your liquids? Check out our awesome products over at DFTBA Records: http://dftba.com/collections/scishow

Or help support us by subscribing to our page on Subbable: https://subbable.com/scishow
----------
Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet?
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow
Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com

Thanks Tank Tumblr: http://thankstank.tumblr.com

Sources:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-causes-hiccups/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-hiccup-remains-a-mystery-though-there-are-many-theories-about-its-causes-and-cures/2014/06/02/c282af74-b8fd-11e3-899e-bb708e3539dd_story.html
http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/spring-2009/why-do-we-hiccup#.VBZmnvldUXc
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/snot/why_do_we_get_hiccups_and_how_do_you_stop_them.aspx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2730251.stm
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiccups/basics/causes/con-20031471
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9896.php
http://mentalfloss.com/article/29674/what-causes-hiccups-and-why-does-sugar-cure-them
http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=1076
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10501632
There are more than one and a half billion people out there using the internet every day, and just like you, they're looking for answers.

We here at SciShow are looking for answers too, answers to questions about science and nature and the human body, Earth and the universe! So we're working with Google and YouTube to answer ten of the most popular questions searched for on the internet.

This is the World's Most Asked Questions!    [Intro]   Today’s question is: How can I get rid of hiccups?   People have all kinds of hiccup remedies that they swear by, none of which seem to have much to do with each other -- like, swallowing a teaspoon of sugar, or guzzling a glass of water, or just holding your breath.   But to figure out how to get rid of hiccups -- and why we get them in the first place -- you gotta start with getting to know your diaphragm.   The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle under your lungs that is one of the most important muscles you have, if you enjoy things like breathing.    And a hiccup is just an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm that causes it to contract suddenly.   When that happens, you take in a gulp of air really quickly, until your vocal folds  -- the membranes at the top of your throat -- clamp shut. That’s what causes the “hic” sound.   Most of the time, the spasm stops as quickly as it started, and you can just say “excuse me” and get on with your life.   But sometimes, those spasms won’t stop ... which means it’s time to get your diaphragm to relax.   To do this, you basically gotta hit the reset button on your nervous system -- or at least the part that controls your diaphragm.   You can do that in a couple of different ways.   One is to stimulate your vagus nerve -- that's a nerve that runs down your neck from the base of your brain, and it regulates some of your body’s most important functions, including your heartbeat and your breathing.    Basically, you need to stimulate this nerve -- distract it, if you will -- so it’ll stop constantly zapping your diaphragm.   So, some people have luck getting rid of hiccups by swallowing a teaspoon of sugar. Sounds delicious, but it’s harder than it sounds.

The act of gulping down those dry granules can provide just enough confusing stimulus for your vagus nerve to start focusing on your throat, and leave your diaphragm alone.    Another more common approach to kicking the hiccups is to increase the level of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream. That might seem a little weird, but your natural breathing rhythms are regulated by your CO2 levels, and if they get too high, your nervous system will signal your diaphragm and lungs to make sure they’re doing their job.    And this is what’s behind most of the hiccup-busting techniques you’ve probably heard of -- like holding your breath, or breathing into a paper bag, or drinking a tall glass of water. All of that stuff stops your intake of oxygen and ramps up your internal CO2 concentration, which signals your diaphragm to get its head in the game and fix things.   If the human body weren't so weird, it wouldn't be so fascinating.   And speaking of hiccup cures, of those of you who filled out our SciShow Survey, 54% said that holding your breath was your preferred method for relieving hiccups, while at a close second was drinking water, at 37%.    We're loving answering these questions, but of all the questions in the world, what do YOU most want answered?

Let us know on Facebook or Twitter or in the comments down below, and we will answer the best questions in a new video at the end of the month. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #WMAQ, for World's Most Asked Questions, and stay tuned for more answers here on SciShow.