The Longest Hiccupping Bout Lasted 68 Years

Most people find a short bout of hiccups to be a minor annoyance. For Iowan Charles Osborne, however, that annoyance became a lifelong companion. His incredible ordeal began in 1922 after he fell while attempting to move a 350-pound hog. Osborne reported that a blood vessel in his brain had burst, and from that moment on, the hiccups started. They would not cease for another 68 years, spanning world wars, the Great Depression, and the space race.

A hiccup, or singultus, is an involuntary spasm of the diaphragm muscle, followed by the sharp closing of the vocal cords. While the exact cause for Osborne's chronic condition was never confirmed, doctors at the time believed his fall damaged a small area in his brainstem responsible for controlling the hiccup reflex. He eventually adapted to his condition, learning breathing techniques to minimize the sound and consuming blended foods to eat safely. After an estimated 430 million hiccups, his condition mysteriously vanished in 1990, just one year before he passed away, finally granting him a year of quiet peace.