TRIVIAL PURSUITS: What Is the Longest Recorded Case of Chronic Hiccups?

We’ve heard stories about people who’ve gotten a chronic case of hiccups.

What is the longest recorded case of chronic hiccups?

 

The longest recorded case of the hiccups was 68 years long. From 1922 to 1990, a U.S. man named Charles Osborne continuously hiccupped from 20 to 40 times every minute. Osborne reportedly first experienced the record-breaking case of hiccups in 1922 when he fell down while attempting to weigh a 350 pound hog before butchering it.

 

Some reports say Osborne may have damaged the area of his brain stem that is responsible for controlling the spasms of the diaphragm that cause hiccups. One year before his death at age 97, Osborne’s hiccups suddenly stopped.
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