Stupid behavior in otherwise intelligent people ...

Hi,

This evening I was reading the paper while eating a hard shell taco. Apparently I got distracted and began to swallow before fully chewing my food. Lodged in the back of my throat was a taco chip with every swallow just seemed to dig itself in further. The sensation was similar to having a fish bone in your throat.

I tried eating something else thinking it might drag the chip with it, which didn't work. If I was successful was it possible I was compounding the unpleasantness as the sharp edges make themselves known going down my esophagus? I thought about fingers in the back of my throat for pushing it out by violent force, but rejected that pretty quickly. Instead I drank water letting it linger in the back of my throat to soften the chip. It wasn't a quick fix, though it did eventually work.

All in all, it was all over in less than 10 minutes, which seemed longer than it really was.

Regards,

Please tell me at least it was an organic-corn, trans-fat-free hard shell, and not a Taco Hell-spawn.

You'd hate to have in your obituary "died choking on a fast-food taco shell" wouldn't you?

Okay. I give up. What was the stupid behavior? Are you suggesting that by swallowing a moment too soon, you were responsible for the lodgment of the taco shard? I hope not, because I think we've all had that happen--with or without swallowing a moment too soon. All in all, I was impressed by your wise (if time-consuming) solution. I think you should have titled this "Problem-Solving Intelligence In Otherwise Hungry People."

I've always heard (and its worked for me too) that eating a hunk of bread takes care of that problem. Not sure why it works.