A podcaster had hiccups live on air. Then she tried a bizarre trick that worked

Nikki Bon (@nikkibon on Instagram), an actor and an LA-based stand-up comedian, was shooting a podcast with her father when continuous hiccups kept interrupting her. Exhausted, she turned to her father for help, who offered a genuinely bizarre solution. But to her surprise, it worked, leaving her dumbfounded. Bon posted the video on April 9. Since then, it has gone viral with over 35 million views on Instagram. 

Right as the podcast began, Bon told her father, a retired drummer, to scare her mid-show to get rid of her hiccups. "Today, the topic is Rosewell," she announced, seconds before her persistent hiccups interrupted her again. Tired, Bon asked Bobby for help, and what he did next left her speechless. "Go, Dee Dee Dee, Ka Ka Ka, Nee Nee Nee," her father said, and Bon, like an obedient student, repeated. And guess what? Something that initially looked like a stupid little hack actually worked on the podcaster. "There is no way that just worked," Bon said while laughing. "I have powers," Bobby joked, to which his daughter replied, "Okay, that worked. That was really weird." You can watch the whole podcast on Bon's YouTube channel. Interestingly, Bon posted another video the same day, trying the viral hack on her baby. But, unfortunately, that did not work, and she concluded, "[The hack] doesn’t work for everyone." 

People have different ways of getting rid of a hiccup episode. While some stand still, holding their breath, others turn to sipping cold water. Researchers of UT Health San Antonio also worked on a device called "FISST" that reported relief in 92% of hiccup cases. The device basically is a drinking tube with an inlet valve that makes you suck harder than usual to drink water. Now, once use the FISST, two things happen simultaneously. As you suck in water, the diaphragm (a muscle at the base of your lungs) contracts, and when you swallow, a flap in your throat closes to allow water down the food pipe. This, together, according to the study, helps to stop hiccups. When researchers received feedback from people, they found that FISST stopped hiccups in the majority of cases. In fact, 183 of 203 participants admitted that the device was effective when they used it. 

Meanwhile, the video went viral on Instagram. While some confessed to having tried the hiccup hack, others suggested other ways we can get rid of hiccups. For instance, @hoezaay commented, "Yo, what the hell? I saved this video just in case. My child had hiccups just now. I asked her to do this, and it worked. What the hell!" Similarly, @renyberry shared, "Manually breathe in and out super painstakingly slow, and the body will remember how to do it automatically, which is basically what a hiccup is: the brain forgetting it can breathe normally — some science folk said it; I don’t make the rules." @tropicalsmokes suggested, "Take a deep breath and blow slowly through your fist to relax the diaphragm. I'll try this next time, though."

You can follow Nikki Bon (@nikkibon) on Instagram for more lifestyle content. 

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