Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall people in a single bound….no it’s not Superman. It’s super bacterium gonorrhea! The microscopic crotch grabber is the strongest organism on the planet and much like promiscuous lovers, it can pull more than its fair share of tail, or, in this case, pili. Forget about bending steel, these little bacteria buggers can drag 100,000 times their body weight which is basically like a human hauling 22 million pounds of crap (or Carrie Bradshaw’s shoe rack). Although we doubt gonorrhea will ever get a comic book, movie franchise, or TV spin off, it’s still a power player in American culture with the number of reported cases on the rise. However, since 30-40% of women who contract gonorrhea are asymptomatic, it’s estimated that 5% of people between 18-35 who have it don’t even know it. While gonorrhea can be transmitted through oral sex and intercourse, it can, in most scenarios, be easily cured with antibiotics. [New Scientist and eMedicineHealth]
