WHO'S LAUGHING NOW

theres also the comedy potential of it. you guys dont know the joy of having your muslim friend text you "hopefully the racists in our city will all get sick and cant go to the protest" and you, as a pasty white guy, responding with "inshallah they get covid"

its a one hit KO every time. its fucking hilarious. theres no english word that has the same effect.

he also once texted me that he got over a mysterious illness he came down with (i think? i cant remember the exact context) and i responded with "subhanallah he is cured"

again, one hit KO. he lost his shit.

disclaimer i am not arab or muslim and i dont speak arabic but @frogofalltime has explained these words to me and says im using them correctly lmao

inshallah - "if god wills it". like an "i hope this happens" kind of thing. remember the finding nemo poster "inshallah they find him" meme if that helps. used in future tense.

mashallah - "god has willed it", used when something good happened. can be used to denote awe about an event or person. used in past tense.

alhamdulillah - essentially "thank god" or "praise be to god". like mashallah and inshallah but stronger, and can be used in any tense (i think). he will be baked soon alhamdullilah

subhanallah - "glory be to god". like alhamdullilah but stronger. used for when something almost miraculous happens!

there's also astaghfirullah which means "i seek forgiveness in god" which you use when you or someone else does something haram (forbidden / sinful / wrong). tbh we use it in a lot of jokey contexts like if someone swears in a conversation you can call them out like "astaghfirullah haram !"

Beluga Delphinapterus leucas

Yes! I’m very fortunate to know several members of Kimalu’s team (which included 17 veterinarians in addition to their invaluable support staff*) and Kimalu herself! She’s a very sweet, very personable girl, and it was heartbreaking to hear she wasn’t doing well. For those unfamiliar with the case, Kimalu developed subcutaneous cysts around her blowhole that were causing her noticeable discomfort. It was determined that surgery was the best option for providing her relief.

The surgery itself was groundbreaking, but what’s even more miraculous is the anesthesia. General anesthesia was once considered impossible in cetaceans, due to their size and incredibly unique anatomy and physiology. For example, just intubating them requires manually dislocating the “goosebeak” (modified larynx that transects the esophagus) to allow for access to the trachea. That’s also why they can’t breathe through their mouth! Furthermore, they are voluntary breathers, and must be ventilated until conscious enough to breathe on their own again.

While general anesthesia has now been performed successfully a handful of times in smaller cetaceans, it had never been done in a beluga. In fact, Kimalu was only the second beluga in which anesthesia had even been attempted—and now, she is the first ever beluga to have woken up!

This is a gamechanger for belugas in human care (and maybe, somewhere down the road, in the wild). Now that we know surgery and anesthesia can be performed successfully, the scope of care we can provide them just got a whole lot wider. This is only the first step, but it’s a monumental one. And it goes to show the remarkable care zoos and aquariums provide their animals, as well as the contributions they make to scientific advancement.

You can read the full press release here:

Here are some pictures provided by Shedd, including Kimalu’s CT images:

*The veterinary team at Shedd Aquarium was joined by experts from Colorado State University, Innovative Veterinary Medicine, the Veterinary Specialty Center, Brookfield Zoo Chicago, SeaWorld, North Carolina State University, ZooRadOne, Indianapolis Zoo, University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine and Zoological Pathology Program, and Arthrex Vet Systems.