Beer mongering

http://www.asylum.com/2009/02/24/herpes-rise-linked-to-beer-pong/

So according to the above article, the herpes rise is linked to everybody's favorite party game, Beer Pong! That's some disappointing stuff, man. Sure, when me and 10 or 20 of my close friends and family are playing, I can play pretty securely. But then I think back to all those times I've played at some skeezy house during my college years, and I can't help but feel a little lucky.

And then after thinking about it even further, this all seemed a bit.....sensational. I mean, c'mon, to compare the dangers of Beer Pong (which may possibly lead to herpes and, I don't know, mono or the common cold) to that of unprotected sex -- which can lead to a slew of STD's that could be life threatening and, ya' know, that whole pregnancy thing -- is a bit much, don't ya' think?

So I decided that I wouldn't simply trust Asylum's interpretation of the article and actually looked up the University of Massachusetts newspaper column for myself (using the cache page, since the article is now longer on their site as far as I can tell). And lo and behold: Despite CLAIMING that herpes is on the rise due to Beer Pong, the article presents absolutely no evidence whatsoever. It merely points out the obvious: Herpes CAN be spread this way, and what you're doing (sharing cups, reusing an unclean ball, etc.) is a prime example. It's entirely speculative. At no point does it actually cite any studies or provide any statistics.

But I guess if you want to be smart, I'd take the advice of the graphic to your left.