Lollipops to cure hiccups sounds like a remarkable idea. Although you may think that such a novel invention was perpetrated by two dozen highly-educated, well-compensated scientists inside an elaborate think tank somewhere in the Midwest, you’d be wrong. This particular creation was crafted by 13 year-old Manchester, Connecticut girl Mallory Kievman. With the assistance of a few MBA’s, she may even bring this delicious relief to a retail shelf near you in the not-too-distant future.
The secret to Kievman’s success: apple cider vinegar and extra sugar, a recipe she concocted in the family kitchen. Once the lollipop hits the market, it will fall into the group known as “nutraceuticals”, which, essentially, is a consumable foodstuff that produces healthy benefits. The upside of these products is that they usually generate little to no side-effects, a sharp contrast to the concerns traditional pharmaceuticals can cause.
“It’s a terrific story,” astroenterologist Dr. Robynne Chutkan explained to WTOP. “I think she tried over a hundred different remedies and researched this for two years … that is some really terrific research and development.”
Mallory, meanwhile, makes this creation sound so simple, and her intelligence on the subject is well beyond her years. “Naturally, I wanted them to stop, so I researched some rumored cures for hiccups,” Kievman told CBS. Regarding the “Hiccupops” themselves, she added, “The ingredients in the lollipop we found overstimulate a set of nerves in your throat and mouth that are responsible for the hiccups reflex arc.”
Wow.
The FDA, however, has offered up some helpful advice for the budding entrepreneur: Market her creation as candy, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t properly tested the item to see if it does, in fact, cure the hiccups. Even if the lollipops can’t “cure” these bodily annoyances, it’s still an amazing creation from a very gifted individual.