OFFBEAT NEWS:

Woman Had The Hiccups For Eight Years

Danielle Kirkland woke up with the hiccups in March 2008 and didn’t shake them until last year. During those eight years, she went to gastric, ear, nose and throat, and lung specialists in hopes of kicking the annoyance, but it wasn’t until 2016 she found a medicine that worked.

While Kirkland was on a quest to kick her hiccups, they ended up seriously infringing on her life. She claims she was kicked out of nursing school for being “disruptive” in class, had a hiccup fit during a funeral, and had a hard time finding love. After suffering through years of boys making fun of her chronic hiccups, Kirkland met Scott McCracken in 2014 and they’ve been together ever since.

With her love life sorted out, Kirkland continued her mission to end her hiccups, which including trying plenty of medications, some of which had negative side effects like muscle spasms. Eventually, she settled on a muscle relaxant that helps. “I’m basically back to normal,” Kirkland says. “No longer do hiccups interfere with my life.”

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Boston Bars Might Ban Glassware Because Of All The Bar Fights

Bar fights are nothing new, but apparently they’re a real problem in Boston. So much so, the city’s Liquor Licensing Board is considering banning glassware in certain bars to avoid serious injuries.

The plan would be for bars with histories of glass-related violence to be forces to use plastic cups, regardless of how fancy the establishment may be. As Christine Puglini, the board’s chairwoman, explains, “You may be high-end, but you’re not acting high-end.”

As you might imagine, not all business owners are thrilled at the idea of gaining plastic. “It makes no sense to offer a legal drug — alcohol — and blame the outcome on packaging,” bar/restaurant manager Michael Anthony explains. “That’s just asinine.”

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Japanese App Will Help People Find Nearest Available Toilet

Sick of searching for a bathroom or even worse having to wait in line? Japanese company KDDI Corp. is here to help. They’ve created an app listing the nearest available toilet.

The service will first be targets at office buildings before moving on to public toilets. “People often waste time by looking around for an available toilet on various floors or by waiting until one becomes available,” KDDI spokesman Daisuke Maruo explains. “We believe this service will help people waste less time.”

There is one creepy aspect of the app. For offices, managers will be alerted if a stall is closed for too long. According to KDDI, that’s to “deal with any possible accidents or troubles that may occur.”

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Make fakes kidnapping to quicken search for his stolen car:

Marcus Fletcher was working a shift as a pizza delivery man in Philadelphia when his car was stolen. He reported the incident to police, but made up one extra little lie: his four-year-old nephew was in the car. Naturally, police intensified the search and found the car soon after…with no kid inside. Eventually, it became clear 22-year-old Fletcher had lied. He was thrown in jail for making a false report to police but authorities are still investigating the robbery. Source: Associated Press

Man falls through ice because he used a 4-wheeler to check conditions:

Word to the wise: if you’re unsure how thick ice is, don’t use a 4-wheeler to “check it out.” A fisherman in Escanaba, Michigan  fell into the water after he used his vehicle to check the conditions. He was able to pull himself out, but according to local authorities, his vehicle has yet to be retrieved. While he may not be a criminal, the unidentified fisherman probably feels pretty stupid.