Have you ever choked on something, or had a coughing fit and said, “Something went down the wrong pipe!” That’s actually a fairly accurate expression, according to pulmonary specialist, Dr. Richard Wunderink. He says we have two tubes that start at the back of our throat… One is the esophagus that leads to our stomach. The other is our trachea, which goes to our lungs. And if a sip of something accidentally goes down your trachea, you start sputtering and choking to get rid of it. To prevent that from happening, simply take smaller sips.