Why does sugar stop hiccups anyway?

[conuly]

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Comments

[steorra]

Here's Diane Duane's explanation about hiccups...

[conuly]

Link's not formatted properly.

[steorra]

Oops, thanks for pointing that out. This should be better.

[conuly]

Thanks :)

[archangelbeth]

Hm!

I eventually learned how to just take full volitional control of the muscles and the urge to hiccup would fade out after a while. On the other hand, I can probably get the offspring to at least try the sugar trick.

[conuly]

That's a neat party trick.

[archangelbeth]

Only if I get hiccups on command!

Sent from my iPhone

[siderea]

It's Time to Dole Out Punishments Based on Wealth and Life Expectancy

I like this idea, but note that it makes an interesting market for crimes of profit. If you are a rich person, and feel you need a crime committed, you are in an excellent position to convince a poor person to commit it for you, and just reimburse them the comparatively quite reasonable punishment fee as an expense on top of whatever you pay them. We in America already do this with gangs/cartels recruiting minors to commit violent/drug crimes for them, knowing that the minors will be sentenced less harshly.

[moon_custafer]

It might at least reduce DUIs, speeding, etc. among rich people – what one might call the privilege to be stupid in public. After all, there’s not much fun in paying a poor person to snort cocaine and drive a sports car recklessly on your behalf (well, it might be fun for the poor person, but that’s all the more reason for the rich person not to go for it.)
ETA -- I suppose it might lead to a resurgence of rich people hiring chauffeurs, so if they’re caught speeding they can be in the back seat saying “Sorry Officer, I begged him to go slower.”

[siderea]

Rich people hiring chauffeurs is an entirely reasonable solution to rich people otherwise drunk driving!

[conuly]

Anything to improve the employment numbers.

[nocowardsoul]

How to Inspire Girls to Become Carpenters and Electricians

1. Teach boys to not make fun of them for everything they do

2. Make housing a human right so high school grads with zero money can go to trade school without having to live with their parents

(Yes, I read the article, I'm just pointing out the things it misses.)

[greghousesgf]

right on!

[siderea]

Hear, hear!

[greghousesgf]

I got asked my damn zodiac sign on job applications more than once. (and it wasn't a job with an astrologer, so there's no excuse!)

[conuly]

JFC WTF?

[greghousesgf]

yeah, I was not too happy, especially since I don't believe in astrology at all.

[conuly]

Neither do I, but I'd be tempted - very strongly tempted, since there's no way in hell I'd take that job anyway, not with that red flag! - to respond with three pages on why modern astrology is false because the set-in-stone "signs" no longer correspond to the actual constellations the sun is in, and also any method that looks solely at birthdate without also checking the moon, rare celestial occurrence, the hour of birth, etc. is flawed on the very face of it.

I can get very pretentious if I try.

[greghousesgf]

James Randi has some great anti-astrology arguments.

[conuly]

Meh, I prefer the over-invested approach to this sort of thing.

[fred_mouse]

I'd be tempted to answer 'Ophiuchus' and see whether they have a clue what I'm talking about (I'd also possibly be lying -- I don't actually know what months it is supposed to have been added to, but I can certainly get into an argument about the way that astrology has and hasn't changed).

[conuly]

Ditto, ditto, so much ditto.