Yesterday I had hiccups I just couldn’t get rid of.

John Garcia, our Nonstop tech expert, thought if he stared at me, it would go away. It didn’t. But my bout with hiccups at our Nonstop meeting did spawn a discussion about tried-and-true remedies sure to make this strange condition go away, from breathing into a paper bag to dangling me headfirst over the side of a building. (I’m still not sure how that had anything to do with hiccups.)

Hiccups are a very common condition that affects just about everyone, including animals. They involved the involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, followed by a sudden closure in your vocal cords. That’s what produces the “hic” sound.

Usually, hiccups are a result of a large meal, alcoholic beverages or sudden excitement. (I must have been excited for our meeting!) Rarely are they a sign of something worse.

Still, they’re annoying, especially when — like me — you’ve got a lot to say.

So I wanted to see what remedies out there work. Here are some I’ve found:

• Breathe into a paper bag
• Drink water upside down (which I can’t still picture)
• Take seven sips of water (a remedy my mom swears by)
• Swallow a teaspoon of sugar
• Hold your breath for at least 10 seconds
• Have someone scare you (never worked for me)
• Gargle with ice water
• Eat a tablespoon of vinegar

Any of these work for you?

***

Here are two cases when hiccups are actually adorable:

Baby Rottweiler has hiccups

Baby laughs at other baby with hiccups

There are moments in life when you realize, ah, things have changed.

I had that moment yesterday at the vending machine near my office.

I had only brought enough change to buy a Diet Pepsi — the campus has a contract with Pepsi, otherwise I would have gotten a Diet Coke — but the machine was out. I tried to get my change back, but it didn’t work. So I stood there, annoyed that I’d have to choose between a bottle of water or Hawaiian Punch, neither of which had the caffeine I needed.

Two male students in their 20s were standing near the vending machines. One had heard me exhale in irritation and asked what happened. So I told him. Then came “the moment.”

Fifteen years ago he might have come over, offered to help in some way, maybe sacrificed his last $1.40 to get me the Diet Pepsi I so desperately wanted.

Instead, he said, “Ho, that sucks, aunty.”

I have officially lost it. Whatever “it” was.

It’s not the first time I’ve been called aunty. All of my friends’ kids call me that. And, I’ll be honest, I call a lot of people that, too, men included. It’s a way for me to get over the fact that I’m no longer “sister,” as a memorable column by Lee Cataluna once lamented. I’m aunty now. I need to accept it.

Still, it was hard to hear yesterday. Though I think if he had ponied up two bucks, I would have quickly forgiven him.