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3000BC The oldest illustration of a condom was found in Egypt and dates
back to this time. It is difficult to judge from the drawing what the ancient
Egyptian wearing the condom had in mind. He may have worn it for sexual or ritual
reasons-or both. Some claim that, in later times, the Romans made condoms from
the muscle tissue of warriors they defeated in battle.
1000BC Condom use can be traced back several thousand years. It is known
that around 1000 BC the ancient Egyptians used a linen sheath for protection
against disease.
100-200 The earliest evidence of condom use in Europe comes from scenes
in cave paintings at Combarelles in France.
1500's The first known published description and trials regarding prophylactic
condom use were recorded in Italy. Gabrielle Fallopius claimed to have invented
a sheath made of linen, and conducted trials amongst 1,100 men using the condom,
none of whom became infected with Syphilis. Having been found useful for prevention
of infection, it was only later that the usefulness of the condom for the prevention
of pregnancy was recognised.
Later in the 1500s one of the first improvements to the condom was made, when
the linen cloth sheaths were sometimes soaked in a chemical solution and then
allowed to dry prior to use. These were the first spermicides on condoms.
1600's The oldest condoms were found in the foundations of Dudley Castle
near Birmingham, England. They were made of fish and animal intestine and dated
back to 1640. They were probably used to prevent transmission of sexually transmitted
infections during the war between the forces of Oliver Cromwell and soldiers
loyal to King Charles I.
1700's Condoms made out of animal intestines began to be available.
However they were quite expensive and the unfortunate result was that they were
often reused. This type of condom was described at the time as "an armour
against pleasure, and a cobweb against infection".
During this time, the famous womanizer, Casanova, wore condoms made of linen.
1844 Goodyear and Hancock began to mass produce condoms made out of
vulcanised rubber. Vulcanisation is a process which turns crude rubber into
a strong elastic material.
1861 The first advertisement for condoms was published in an American
newspaper when The New York Times printed an ad. for "Dr. Power's French
Preventatives."
1873 The Comstock Law was passed. Named after Anthony Comstock, the
Comstock Law made illegal the advertising of any sort of birth control, and
it also allowed the postal service to confiscate condoms sold through the mail.
1880's The first latex condom was produced, although it was to be the
1930s before these were in widespread use. By 1935 1.5 million condoms were
being produced each day in the United States.
1910-1950 The American Social Hygiene Association fought hard to prohibit
condom use in the early part of this century. Social hygienists believed that
anyone who risked getting "venereal" diseases should suffer the consequences,
including American "dough boys"-U.S. soldiers who fought in World
War I. The American Expeditionary Forces, as the American army was called, were
the only armed forces in Europe during the war, who were denied the use of condoms.
It is not surprising that our troops had the highest rates of sexually transmitted
infections of all-70 percent of our "boys" were just unable to "just
say 'no.'"
The Secretary of the Navy was only one of many military leaders who believed
that condom use was immoral and "unChristian." It was a young Assistant
Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who, when his boss was away
from the office, ordered the distribution of prophylactic kits to help sailors
treat infections that they could have prevented with condoms. One of the challenges
that Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, faced as she fought
for women's right to use birth control was the double standard regarding condom
use. Doctors were allowed to "prescribe" condoms to protect men from
syphilis and gonorrhea when they had pre-marital or extra-marital sexual intercourse.
Women, however, could not get condoms to protect themselves from unintended
pregnancy.
Similarly, the Nazi government of Germany would not allow the use of condoms,
or any other kind of birth control, by its citizens. They were expected to breed
warriors to create a one-race world of "Aryans." But the Nazi military
did allow soldiers to use condoms to keep them on the front lines instead of
crowding their barracks nursing illnesses caused by syphilis and gonorrhea.
By World War II, military leaders had a more realistic attitude about condoms.
Concerned that "our boys" would bring home diseases and infect their
wives, they aggressively promoted the use of condoms. Government training films
urged soldiers, "Don't forget-put it on before you put it in."
1960's The sexual revolution of the 60s almost put an end to condom
use. "Good girls" were willing sex partners, so fewer men turned to
professional sex workers, the most prevalent STIs-gonorrhea and syphilis-were
easily treated, and the Pill and IUD provided the most effective reversible
contraception the world had seen.
1980-1990 During most of the 1980s American manufacturers dominated
the American condom market. Then in 1987 a Japanese brand called Kimono became
available in the USA. This condom was thinner and well lubricated and it's advertisements
emphasised pleasure as well as protection. Subsequently the 1990s saw the introduction
of a large number of different types of condom. Also in the 1990s the first
polyurethane condom became available.
When HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS, was identified, it became clear that
condom use and safer sex could stem the epidemic. Many public health professionals
believe that local, state, and federal governments behave a lot like the social
hygienists of the World War I generation as they continue to ignore or deny
the need for public condom education. At this point in the epidemic, 25 percent
of all HIV infections occur among teenagers-with rates increasing most quickly
for teenage women. Yet most school districts still oppose condom distribution
among students.
Making Condoms
Sheepgut condoms
To Make (State of the art as at 1824):
Ordinary Condoms (Armour, Baudruches, Redingotes Anglaises), used to prevent
venereal disease or pregnancy, were made from sheeps' intestina caeca soaked
in water for some hours, turned inside out, macerated again in weak alkaline
changed every 12 hours, scraped carefully to removed the mucous membrane, leaving
the peritoneal and muscular coats; exposed to the vapor of burning brimstone,
washed with soap and water; blown up, dried, cut to length of 7-8 inches, bordered
at the open end with a riband.
Baudruches fines: soaked in weak ley, turned inside out, dressed as before.
Soaked in ley again, brimstoned, drawn smooth upon oiled moulds of a proper
size, with the external coat of the gut next to the mould.
Baudruches superfines: washed in 2 soapy waters after soaking in them for 24
hrs and very carefully dressed with the knife. Soaked in hard water for 3 days,
the water being often changed; dried with a clean cloth, scented with essences,
and being stretched on a glass mould, rubbed with a glass to polish them.
Baudruches superfine doubles: in their moist state being on the mould, another
is drawn over also moist, the 2 insides adhere together.
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