He wasn't cured until 68 years later

一直到68年後，打嗝才停止

and is now listed by Guinness as the world record holder

他至今仍被金氏世界紀錄中

for hiccup longevity.

打嗝時間最長紀錄的保持人

Meanwhile, Florida teen Jennifer Mee

同時，佛羅里達州的少女珍妮佛‧米

may hold the record for the most frequent hiccups,

則保有打嗝最頻繁的紀錄

50 times per minute for more than four weeks in 2007.

她在2007年時，曾超過四個星期每分鐘打嗝五十次

So what causes hiccups?

但究竟什麼原因導致人會打嗝呢？

Doctors point out that a round of hiccups often follows from stimuli

醫生指出，一輪的打嗝常緊接著刺激

that stretch the stomach,

引發胃部的伸展而來

like swallowing air

像是吞嚥下空氣

or too rapid eating or drinking.

或者進食、喝水速度太快

Others associate hiccups with intense emotions

至於其它與打嗝有關的原因，還有強烈的情緒變化

or a response to them:

或者對以下的反應：

laughing,

大笑

sobbing,

抽泣

anxiety,

焦慮

and excitement.

以及興奮

Let's look at what happens when we hiccup.

讓我們來看一下，打嗝時人體會發生什麼變化

It begins with an involuntary spasm or sudden contraction of the diaphragm,

橫隔膜會先不自主地痙攣或突然收縮

the large dome-shaped muscle below our lungs

它是肺部底下的大圓頂狀肌肉

that we use to inhale air.

而肺平常則用來吸入空氣

This is followed almost immediately by the sudden closure of the vocal chords

緊接著聲帶會幾乎突然關閉

and the opening between them,

介於它們之間的開口

which is called the glottis.

就是所謂的聲門也一樣會閉合

The movement of the diaphragm initiates a sudden intake of air,

由於橫隔膜的移動會觸發突然吸入空氣

but the closure of the vocal chords stops it from entering the wind pipe

而聲帶的閉合又阻絕空氣進入氣管

and reaching the lungs.

和抵達肺部

It also creates the characteristic sound: "hic."

並產生特有的聲音：嗝。

To date, there is no known function for hiccups.

到目前為止， 還不知道打嗝有什麼功能。

They don't seem to provide any medical or physiological advantage.

打嗝並未提供任何醫療上或生理上的益處

Why begin to inhale air only to suddenly stop it from actually entering the lungs?

至於為什麼會突然吸入空氣又實際阻止其進入肺部呢？

Anatomical structures,

從解剖生理結構

or physiological mechanisms, with no apparent purpose

或者生理機制來看，打嗝並沒有明顯的目的

present challenges to evolutionary biologists.

卻為演化生物學者帶來挑戰

Do such structures serve some hidden function that hasn't yet been discovered?

這樣的結構，有什麼尚未被發現的隱藏功能嗎？

Or are they relics of our evolutionary past,

或者打嗝是人類的進化歷程中的遺跡，

having once served some important purpose

或者一度肩負何種重要目的

only to persist into the present as vestigial remnants??

只是目前僅殘存些微的遺跡？

One idea is that hiccups began

有一個想法是，打嗝起於

many millions of years before the appearance of humans.

人類出現的數百萬年前

The lung is thought to have evolved as a structure to allow early fish,

肺臟被認為已進化成一個結構，以便讓早期的魚類，

many of which lived in warm, stagnant water with little oxygen,

讓牠們能住在溫暖、氧氣量不多的積水裡生存，

to take advantage of the abundant oxygen in the air overhead.

並利用頭頂上豐富的氧氣

When descendants of these animals later moved onto land,

後來當這些物種的後裔，遷移到陸地上

they moved from gill-based ventilation to air-breathing with lungs.

他們也從用鰓呼吸，轉變成用肺來呼吸空氣

That's similar to the much more rapid changes faced by frogs today

有點類似今日青蛙所面對的快速變化

as they transition from tadpoles with gills

他們從蝌蚪用鰓呼吸過渡而來

to adults with lungs.

到成熟時改用肺來呼吸

This hypothesis suggests that the hiccup is a relic of the ancient transition

這項假設認為，打嗝是古代過渡的遺物

from water to land.

從水中遷移到陸地

An inhalation that could move water over gills

吸入時可能把水送進鰓裡

followed by a rapid closure of the glottis preventing water from entering the lungs.

隨後聲門快速閉合以防止水進入肺中

That's supported by evidence

而這可是有證據支持的

which suggests that the neural patterning involved in generating a hiccup

其中並有神經模式牽涉到打嗝的產生

is almost identical to that responsible for respiration in amphibians.

因為負責兩棲類的循環系統，幾乎與此完全相同

Another group of scientists believe that the reflex is retained in us today

另一組科學家則認為，今日人類仍留存這種反射機制

because it actually provides an important advantage.

因為它實際上提供一個重要的優點

They point out that true hiccups are found only in mammals

他們指出，打嗝只有真正在哺乳動物身上會發現

and that they're not retained in birds, lizards, turtles,

鳥類、蜥蜴和烏龜身上並沒有留下這些東西

or any other exclusively air-breathing animals.

或是在其它只呼吸空氣的動物身上

Further, hiccups appear in human babies long before birth

此外，打嗝也早於人類嬰兒出生之前

and are far more common in infants than adults.

而嬰兒打嗝也比成人更常見

Their explanation for this

他們的解釋是

involves the uniquely mammalian activity of nursing.

因為牽涉到哺乳動物獨特的養育活動

The ancient hiccup reflex may have been adapted by mammals

哺乳動物可能已完全適應這種古早的打嗝反射

to help remove air from the stomach as a sort of glorified burp.

以一種美化的打嗝方式來幫助腸胃排除空氣。

The sudden expansion of the diaphragm would raise air from the stomach,

因為橫隔膜的突然膨脹，會把胃裡的空氣向上推昇

while a closure of the glottis would prevent milk from entering the lungs.

而聲門的閉合則可防止奶水進入肺部。

Sometimes, a bout of hiccups will go on and on,

有時，打嗝會不斷持續

and we try home remedies:

我們則嘗試家族偏方來治療

sipping continuously from a glass of cold water,

像是持續啜飲一杯冷開水

holding one's breath,

摒住呼吸

a mouthful of honey or peanut butter,

喝下一口蜂蜜或花生醬

breathing into a paper bag,

或者朝著紙袋吹氣

or being suddenly frightened.

或者突然被驚嚇

Unfortunately, scientists have yet to verify that any one cure

不幸的是，科學家尚未證實其中有任何一種的療效

works better or more consistently than others.

會比其它的效果好，或者比其它方法更一致

However, we do know one thing that definitely doesn't work.

但不管怎麼，我們很確定知道一件事，它們都無法發揮功能