Today we're going to take a little leap back in time to discover the history of the condom, from its beginnings to the condom we know today.
The use of condoms, or at least something similar, dates back to around 6000 BC! An eight-thousand-year-old Egyptian statuette has been found showing an Egyptian with a "sheath" around his penis, probably serving as a rudimentary contraceptive. One can imagine that it must not have been very pleasant…
In 1500 BC, legend has it that Minos, son of Zeus and legendary king of Crete, used a "pouch" made of goat's bladder during his trysts with his mistresses!
It was in Rome, around the 1st century BC, that the condom came closer to the condom we know. It was then made from animal bladders or intestines. At least it was less polluting!
Let's go around the world to China, in the 10th century, where they opted for an oiled silk paper condom. The Japanese opted for manufacturing from turtle shells or leather. These condoms served as contraceptives but also as dildos thanks to their rigidity (2 in 1, why not?).
Six centuries later, the Italian anatomist and surgeon Gabriel Fallopius invented the "sheath of light fabric, custom-made, to protect against venereal diseases" and notably from the "French rot", namely syphilis (well well). However, this innovation was quickly forgotten because it was not very waterproof and therefore quite ineffective.
Until the early 19th century, condoms were prepared from baudruche or sheep caecum, but in 1843 the first rubber manufactures began in the United Kingdom. They could then be washable and reusable!
It was in 1930 that latex became, as it is today, the base material for our condoms. Since then, new technologies have brought about scented, ribbed, studded condoms…
We've come a long way from goatskin condoms!