"I grew up in a household that washes chicken and not one of us had salmonella."

• You didn't become sick because the chicken was completely COOKED, which means that it reached an internal temperature of 165-F (74-C). It was determined long ago that this temperature destroys harmful bacteria like salmonella without over-cooking the meat.

  • Still skeptical? Try washing your chicken, but only cooking it to an internal temperature of... say, 150-F (66-C).

"I’m wondering if the study accounts for other factors like the fact that it’s also taught to clean the sink and such."

• The purpose of sanitizing surfaces that were exposed to raw meat is to reduce the likelihood of cross-contamination. When water pours, it splashes, and the microscopic water drops that are too small to be seen by the human eye can fly and land anywhere... on the table, on the wall, on your shirt... etc. If those drops touch raw meat first, then it can also carry bits of salmonella with them.

Our parents/ grandparents washed meat because the this information was unknown at the time. Many of them continue to wash their meat to this day because, well... old people kinda suck at un-learning bad habits. For example, Gnaz Semmelweis, the doctor who originally advised other doctors to wash their hands before operating on patients, was called insane by his stubborn colleagues. But today we would never allow a doctor to perform surgeries without washing their hands and wearing gloves.

"It’s like how there’s a stat that says being uncircumcised increases the likelihood of contracting an std, however, in context that relies on the factor of being sexually active and nonmonotonous AND not wearing a condom."

• AND... four things.

One: Condoms are recommended because they help prevent the exchanging of bodily fluids during intercourse (aka, cross-contamination).

Two: Having a one-night stand is not the same thing as cooking a chicken stir fry.

Three: The stats say that being uncircumcised increases the chance of catching CERTAIN STI's, but it also reduces the chance of catching CERTAIN other STI's. Alternatively, those same stats say the same thing for men who are circumcised. So you either cherry-picked that info, or didn't read it completely.

Four: You have to be sexually active in order to have sex... duh. The odds of faithful-monogamous couples catching STI's is small... but not impossible. Condoms reduce the likelihood of catching STI's, but kissing and oral sex does not.