If you ever worried that you were ignorant…

Justin sent me this link last night and I added it to my del.icio.us bookmarks, but I had to peek at it again this morning. The Strangest but Truest Posts of 2007 in TheBody.com’s “Ask the Experts” Forums:

We’ve scoured our “Ask the Experts” forums and nominated 10 posts we feel are the “best of the worst” of 2007 (or the worst of the worst, depending on how you look at it). They’re some of the oddest, most nonsensical questions we’ve seen people ask about HIV this year. Some are shocking, some are sad, many are hilarious — and they’re all reminders of how far we still have to go to educate the world about HIV and STDAware.

When I was in school as a member of the LGBSU and working as a peer counselor, I heard all kinds of crazy questions and dispelled a lot of myths and rumors, but I never got to hear anything like these! Check out all 10 for yourself, here are some highlights…

Nominee #2: A Really Nasty Computer Virus
I fixed an HIV-positive friend’s computer. The dust inside the computer got everywhere. I breathed it in and found it all over my scraped-up hands. Now I’m wondering: I couldn’t catch HIV from computer dust, could I?

Nominee #5: Why They Invented the Word “Duh”
I was just invited to a barebacking party in West Hollywood that’s “poz friendly.” Do you think I should bring condoms?

Nominee #10: Can You Get HIV by Using a Shower Curtain as Toilet Paper?
While using the bathroom at a party, I found there was no toilet paper left and opted to wipe myself clean with a shower curtain. Later on, I found out that the owner of the house is HIV positive. Now I’m deathly afraid. I was getting my period at the time; could HIV have gotten into my bloodstream through the shower curtain and infected me?

I won’t copy the one that really cracked me up which was Nominee #8, you’ll just have to check out the list. The post does include dictionary/biology terms for some parts and the widely used term for a phallic sex toy, but it’s actually quite worksafe. Still, reading it may just make you feel a lot smarter and hopefully a little bit amused. 🙂