Etch-A-Sketch: Condom Edition

Do you love art almost as much as you love (safe) sex? Well, if so, there's a contest for you!

New York City is sponsoring a contest for the best condom wrapper to remind people to be safe about sex. The city health department will debut the winning look in the fall and the wrapper will be the latest in a string of colorful designs the city hands out for free.

The contest is open to people over the age of 17 and entries (of a non-raunchy and non-copyrighted variety) can be submitted until January 22.

And did you know that there is indeed a Facebook page called NYC Condom that you can refer to for all manner of prophylactic information?

Hey whatever it takes, because it's no joke, what with the spread of HIV/AIDS and STDs not abating anytime soon. What would be an image that would most be most effective in getting people to play it safe? Keep in mind that the city has given out over 40 million free condoms a year to places such as bars, beauty salons, restaurants, gyms and hospitals, according to the release.

You can submit your ideas here:

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control ATTN: Director of Condoms and Materials Distribution 40 Worth Street, CN-A/2, Room 1602 New York, NY 10013

Or on the Web site here.

Photo courtesy sxc.hu.