Off with the Old, on with the New….Year that is. And I can’t say I’m sorry to see 2023 ride off into the sunset. Overall, it hasn’t been a great year. Two wars are raging, thousands of people have been displaced, natural disasters have run rampant. 2023 saw record-breaking tornado events, wildfires affecting air quality hundreds of miles away, and the hottest year ever recorded. Here at home, we have a border crisis and a Congress that’s too divided to get anything done. But I don’t do politics, so let’s move on. On the bright side, 2023 wasn’t all bad. Egg prices dropped back to $2 a dozen (not the organic kind), the US government did not shut down (yet), Taylor Swift and Beyonce were everywhere, a 104-year-old-woman went sky diving, proving that wisdom does not necessarily come with age, the COVID pandemic was officially over, and the stock market ended the year on a high. And, on another high note, it’s time for my annual year-end wrap-up of stupid drug names. And it was indeed a banner year for stupid drug names. Of the 55 new drugs approved by the FDA during 2023 only two did not present a phonetic challenge. Xs, Ys, Zs and Qs abound, as well as consonant combinations that I fear do not exist in any language on the planet. Choosing a mere 10 for this quiz was daunting. But I challenge you to try your hand at my selection. You need not attempt to say them aloud. To ease you in, I open with a name that is, in fact, a linguistic possibility. ELFABRIO
And honorable mention goes to Fruzaqla, Bimzelx, Velsipity, and Logtorzi, all of which are causing my Spellcheck a nervous breakdown. If you have any interest at all, here are the uses for the drugs: Elfabrio: treatment for Fabrys disease; Ojjaara: treatment for a side effect of anemia; Fabhalta: to treat nocturnal hemoglobinuria; Wainua: treat amyloidosis; Brenzavvy: Type 2 diabetes; Xdemvy: blepharitis; Columvi: lymphoma; Zynyz: carcinoma; Joenja: 3-kinase delta syndrome; Filsuvez: epidermolysis bullosa From my family to yours, I wish you a happy and healthy New Year. I thank you for your continued indulgence. I couldn’t possibly be having this much fun without you. And I leave you with this amusing factoid: today’s date reads like a waltz: 123 123. (12\31\23). This will never happen again! Comments are closed.
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About the AuthorSusan is the author of two award-winning collections of humorous personal essays: “How Old Am I in Dog Years?” and “How to Complain When There’s Nothing to Complain About.” Check out her Author Page HERE. Archives
April 2024
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