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The correct answer is B, an incredible 68 years of the hiccups! The sufferer's name was Charles Osborne, from the town of Anthon, Iowa.

He started hiccupping in 1922 and didn’t stop until February 1990. Guinness World Records estimates he had over 430 million spasms.

Doctors have yet to find a cause for hiccups. The scientific term for it is singultus (from the Latin, singult, which describes catching your breath while crying).

During a case of the hiccups, your diaphragm suddenly contracts. This results in a rapid, involuntary inhalation that eventually causes our vocal cords to shut, producing the famous "hiccup" sound.

While the cause of hiccups is unknown, there are some things that certainly irritate your diaphragm, including nervousness, eating too much, or eating too quickly. The majority of hiccups last only a few minutes. However, if they last for days or weeks, it might be the sign of another medical problem, so you should talk to your doctor.

Additional Resources:

• Read a physician's description of hiccups at the Intellihealth Web site.
• Read the Guiness World Record entry for the longest-lasting case of hiccups.

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