Having a one-in-a-million medical condition is not exactly something to be celebrated, but one man who allegedly went to Washington recently for an assessment has at least decided to make something out of his disease. The man, who goes by the pseudonym “Typo,” has decided to name his rare disease “Ligma,” with the help of doctors; since he seems to be the only one who got it, he has dibs on the naming scheme.
The naming of the alleged serious medical condition took place on April 11, which Typo revealed in a H3H3 Productions podcast. Typo, also a fan of H3H3’s Ethan Klein, went to the podcast anonymously as a guest with the specific goal of asking the YouTuber for help in picking a name for his genetic condition. Turns out the National Health Institute in Washington gave him the honors while they determine the specifics of the disease. Typo went with Ligma for the name, with the help of Ethan Klein and the internet.
As for the condition, Typo has sadly been sick for most of his life, and the doctors in Washington determined that the man has short DNA telomeres. This condition practically translates to poor health akin to Stage 4 cancer (which was the initial diagnosis). Here’s the podcast for those interested:
For a simplified version, telomeres protect the ends of the chromosomes in our DNA by preventing them from unraveling and getting tangled. Telomeres are naturally long when a human is born and gradually become shorter with age. Typo’s telomeres are sadly too short for someone only in his 30s, meaning his cells are not replicating properly, leading to cancer-like symptoms, thanks to Dexerto for the explanation.
Ligma Won Over
As it is, Typo already had his eyes set on “Ligma” even before he asked H3H3 Productions for help, though he initially thought it was a low-effort name. The man even consulted the doctor on what he thought of Ligma, but sadly, the healthcare professional didn’t get the joke.
Ligma, on the other hand, came out as the most popular choice in Ethan Klein’s podcast, so that’s the one Typo is going with. Hence, a new disease might soon be officially classified, and the US might soon officially claim the term “Ligma” as some kind of telomere disorder. Fingers crossed that the doctors don’t find out and be buzzkills.
As expected, the internet has celebrated Typo’s choice of name for his rare disease, with many now rejoicing that there’s finally a valid and classy answer to the question of “what’s ligma?”
“What’s ‘Ligma’?,” asks Redditor phoenix-force411
“Apparently a disease where your telomeres don’t replicate properly,” answers Redditor AbueloOdin
“Gottem!,” adds Redditor Cobra-D
