Sounds We Make Trivia Quiz

Answer: Overeating

Sneezing caused by a very full stomach is known as snatiation. It usually occurs after consuming a very big meal, and is believed to be a genetic. Another associated sneeze, along with indigestion and heartburn, can occur from eating very spicy foods as well.

Answer: Hiccups

Hiccups take place when our diaphragm suddenly contracts. This causes the vocal cords to momentarily close and that results in the familiar "hic" we've all endured from time to time. A single "hic" can be a little embarrassing, and a series of non-stop "hics" can be downright annoying when they go on a-hic-nd on an-hic-d on. Hiccups can be caused by swallowing too much air, spicy foods, intense emotions, soft drinks and eating too quickly.

Oh my goodness, have a read of this: One of the many "cures" put forth for hiccups by the medical profession is a digital rectal massage! In a pig's eye. I'd rather have the hiccups. Then, reading on further, to add insult to injury, we are cheerfully informed that there really is no known solution for hiccups at all except time. Another suggested cure is to stick vinegar up your nose. Folk remedies, and there are a pile of them, include grabbing on to your tongue and holding it. Try it, and hiccup at the same time. It's very amusing. You'll look like a complete dill.

Answer: One caused by emotional or psychological problems

Coughing can have an astonishing numbers of causes. Just a few of these include irritants or the presence of foreign bodies in the throat, excessive secretions, gastroesophageal reflux disease, asthma, bronchitis, pollution, cigarette smoke, lung cancer, heart failure and even many drugs. Nothing can really cure a cough, and, in most cases, it clears up of its own accord. In fact, medicines designed (usually futilely) to suppress a cough can do more harm than good, as it is better to have a productive cough in many cases to rid oneself of the muck behind the infection, rather than safely tucking it back up into bed.

A psychogenic cough is one caused, not by any physical problems in the individual, but rather by emotional or psychological ones instead. This can also have a range of causes, but before such a diagnosis can be made, all physical links have to be definitely ruled out first. Here's a piece of useless information for you: In the 1969 work "Parasitic Diseases of Dolphins", written by a host of learned scientists, they inform us, with all solemnity, that many marine mammals, such as dolphins, cannot cough. Well, obviously (stated with a roll of the eyes), if they did, they'd drown.

Answer: Our ear drums get stretched

Yawning is usually associated with either tiredness, sleepiness, boredom or hunger. There has even been a suggestion by scientists at the University of Albany that we yawn to cool our brains down as well. (No derisive snorting from the person in the back of the room, thank you). They don't know why we really yawn, in other words. What is interesting about yawning, which even animals do, is that, when we yawn, our eardrums get stretched as well.

Yawning is believed to be a common behaviour common to large herds of animals, as well as single individuals. It apparently sets them all off and signals that it is time for the herd to rest. In primates though, the yawn is considered to be a threatening action. "Back off or I'll attack - as soon as I wake up". Several other pieces of trivia related to yawning include the following: The closer emotionally that an adult, child or dog is to any yawner, the higher the percentage of copied yawning that takes place. An increase in yawning is said to be a positive sign in recovering from a schizophrenic episode. Siamese fight fish yawn before they attack. Some penguins yawn during courtship. How insulting. If one yawns too loudly during a trial, that person can be charged with contempt of court. Pandiculation is a word to describe yawning and stretching at the same time. And finally, I bet you yawned while reading this question and its information. I certainly did.

Answer: Purgation of excess humours from the brain

Well, there's nothing humorous about sobbing, that's for certain. In fact, seeing anybody sobbing with grief is a very distressing sight, and can move the observer to tears of sadness as well. Sobbing, that heartbroken sound that accompanies crying, is defined as shedding tears, accompanied by erratic inhalation and gulping of breath. Anything can cause a person to cry and sob, sometimes even happiness, but more often than not, these sorrowful actions are associated with loss and grief. Scientists today believe that there is a connection between our tear ducts and the emotional centres of our brains. It took them years of university study to figure that out? Hippocrates already knew it way back before the modern era of man.

Did you know that some animals even have the ability to cry? As stated by Charles Darwin in his 1872 work, "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals", staff at a London Zoo described to him many cases of seeing elephants in their charge weeping for sorrow. And that's enough to give anyone a great big lump of sorrow in the throat. These lovely old gentle creatures should not be caged up for the entertainment of man. It's just too cruel.

Answer: Johnny Weissmuller

Johnny Weissmuller (1904-1984) was the famous actor who brought the character of Tarzan alive on the big screen in a total of six different movies. Swinging through the jungle on convenient vines, wearing nothing but a brief loincloth which always managed to modestly remain in place no matter the provocation or exercise, Johnny's Tarzan had a blood-curdling yell which echoed far and wide across the tree-tops of his leafy domain. That yell, created especially for Johnny's dashing to the rescue role, was said to have been created by combining a dog's growl, a soprano's trill, the G string on a violin and the howl of a hyena played backwards. As a trained soprano you can't imagine how insulted I am by this. However, Johnny made that yell the most famous yell in the world, and it is still used today in various forms of entertainment.

The loveliest tale about it though took place at his funeral, following his death in 1984. Normally a funeral is a sombre and sorrowful affair, and not much laughter takes place at those muted places of loss, but Johnny had arranged, just before his death, a little farewell gift for the mourners. As his coffin was being lowered into the ground, he had a recording of his famous Tarzan yell played loudly three times to echo around the graveside. I love that story, don't you?

Answer: Yes

Stuttering can be a horribly painful condition for those who suffer from it. It comes accompanied for long term stutters with feelings of embarrassment, anxiety, shame, fear and even anger, and can lead, in the worst case scenarios, to failed relationships and missed opportunities at work. Stuttering has several causes, from the physical to the emotional, but, surprisingly, one of those shows a strong genetic link. Children with close family relatives who stutter also have a higher than average chance of developing stutters as well. It would be wise perhaps to take that finding with a little grain of salt - or at least don't rule out the possibility that stuttering could be acquired and imitated behaviour rather than a genetic inheritance.

The good news about this disabling condition, and, make no mistake, it can be very disabling for its sufferers, is that stuttering can be cured over a period of time. It takes dedication, persistency and patience, but it can be overcome. The other piece of good news for those who stutter is that recent studies have shown that stutterers, particularly recovered ones, have a higher level of intelligence than is the norm.

Answer: Swallowing air

It's the air we swallow during the act of consumption, rather than the products themselves, that causes us to burp. Burps are made up, in the main, of a combination of nitrogen and oxygen. Burping, or excessive burping, can point to various physical conditions in individuals, such as heartburn, dyspepsia, ulcers, gastric reflux, hernia or food allergies and so on, so any continual burping, accompanied by pain, should always be checked out by a physician.

That's the serious side of things. A couple of other interesting facts associated with the good old burp are as follows: The loudest burp in history (to date) goes to the credit of one Paul Hunn, as stated in the Guinness Book of Records. In 2009, his burp was recorded, and the results showed it to be the same volume as a jackhammer in close proximity. Many mammals such as cows and sheep also burp, but cows are by the far the worst at this. Their gas emissions, 95% of which are burps, produce ozone destroying methane, and, in fact, your average cow can produce 600 litres of methane a day. My goodness. This has so disturbed scientists that there is talk of producing an anti-burping vaccines for Betsy and Strawberry. A far simpler solution would be to stop feeding cows cereal that their bodies are genetically unused to, and to give them the types of grasses that cows have eaten since time began instead. It's actually dangerous, and cruel, to attempt to stop a cow from passing its natural gasses, a fact to which those of us with a farming background can testify. It results in the poor creatures swelling up with a condition known as bloat, and that can lead to their death.

Answer: No

Laughter is associated with our production of neuropeptides called endorphins, but there is no known part of the brain specifically responsible for this happy sound, or if so, scientists haven't discovered it - yet. Laughter is good for people suffering from various pain, and can help reduce the level of that pain for varying periods of time. Laughter is also associated with the healthy functioning of our blood vessels as it causes them to dilate, and thus increase blood flow. There is an unfortunate condition known as aphonogelia, in which sufferers, no matter how much they may want to, cannot laugh at all. Oh how absolutely dreadful that would be. Seriously.

The production of laughter is good for our overall well being and health. A study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore in 2000 has shown that people with heart disease laugh 40% less than is the norm. Well, wouldn't you? And of course you've all heard the story of Chrysippus, the ancient Greek philosopher who gave his donkey a bucket of wine - and then laughed himself to death watching the donkey trying to eat figs.

Answer: The didgeridoo

Snoring is the result of the obstruction of our air passages that occurs while we sleep. This can have flow on effects on our health while we are awake though - such as continual drowsiness, irritability (especially in one's partner), and even a decrease in libido. Other causes relating to snoring include weak throat muscles, misalignment of jaw, tubbiness, over consumption of alcohol, smoking, and sleeping on one's back. There is also the danger of swallowing a mosquito - or worse - in that position as well.

"Cures" for this sometimes comical but always annoying condition can include surgery, special equipment to force the air passages to open properly, losing weight, giving up smoking (what about drinking?), special sprays, nasal clips, special pillows, and even playing certain music. This includes, of all things, playing the Australian aboriginal musical instrument known as the didgeridoo. Now I ask you, how stupid is that? Obviously if you're wide awake and playing the didgeridoo, or any musical instrument in fact, you're certainly not going to be snoring anyhow. Some cure.