We’ve all had hiccups. They’re those annoying spasms in your chest you’ve tried every trick in the book to get rid of. You know, like having someone scare you. Scientists call this reaction “singultus,” and it has no known purpose. They believe it is a trait passed down from our amphibian ancestors. They’ve found that the electrical trigger in the brain for both amphibians and humans is the same when a hiccup occurs.