So you think that yours is the first generation to have sex, let alone safe sex using condoms. We all know how we would prefer to ignore the fact that our parents do it let alone our grandparents. Have you ever wondered just how long humans  have been using condoms as a form of contraception and protection against sexually transmitted diseases? You would be surprised, we were!

There is evidence that the Egyptians used a form of condoms, although they were not called condoms then. King Charles II had a Doctor called the Earl of Condom, he, under the kings request, invented the condom made from oiled sheep intestine! Nice! Just how many would you get from a sheep? Does that mean that sheep farmers could have been called condom farmers!!

So people were being sensible about sex up to 3000 years ago. In the far east, the Chinese and Japanese used protection made out of either oiled paper or leather, and it has been recorded that they sometimes used tortoiseshell. Well, however hard we think about that we can’t work out how. May be it was an original ‘dutch cap’.

In 1564 an anatomist called Gabriel Fallopius (mmm name sound familiar! Ah yes, he named the fallopian tube, clever man, good job he wasn't called Jones it would have been the Jones tube) designed a linen covering for the tip of the penis. This was placed on the penis and the edges tucked under the foreskin and held in place with a pink ribbon, supposedly making it attractive to the ladies. Well we have always been a sucker for pink! It was invented purely to prevent the spread of syphilis, which was rife at the time, and only many years later was it recognised as a method of birth control. 

In 1640 the Brits were at it as well. A toilet at Dudley Castle was unearthed and found to contain condoms. So not much has changed really apart from now they are readily available and cheap, especially from www.coveredlove.co.uk. Back in those days they were made from either sheep’s gut or large bowel which was: soaked; turned inside out; soaked in alkaline solution; hand scraped and left in brimstone vapour; washed out; blown up and then dried slowly. After all these preparations they were then cut to length and tied with a ribbon. Obviously only the very wealthy could afford to use these as a disposable item. The poorer folk used to think they were being more careful with their budget by buying one and re-using it (Yuk)!  Unfortunately for them, this was actually causing them to contract the diseases that they were trying to prevent.

The first advert for condoms was in 1861 in the New York Times, which printed a commercial for ‘Dr. Power’s French Preventatives.’ However, in 1873, the Comstock Law was passed, making it illegal to advertise any kind of birth control, and it allowed Post Office personnel to confiscate condoms sent through the mail. Despite these measures, people were still having sex, and they were assisted further by the production of the first latex condom in the 1880s, although it was not until the 1930s that they became widespread. These latex skin-tight condoms - which were thinner, aged less quickly and did not smell - were cheaper and single-use. They were also seamless, made by dipping glass moulds into liquid latex. The sensation-deadening condom designed to end premature ejaculation was also introduced. In fact they are still around today. If you would like to try a condom that prolongs ejaculation you can buy them here from us, they are called Delay condoms and ours are made by EXS.

In the 1930’s Latex manufacturing processes improved producing a thin, pliant and inexpensive product, similar to the one-use only condoms we use today.

Early in the 1950’s following widespread use of condoms in World War Two, the next challenge for prophylactics involved making them more consumer friendly. And so, the reservoir tip on the skin-tight latex condom was introduced.

In the 1980s, the spread of AIDS transformed the condom into an essential sexual accessory, providing highly effective birth control and protecting millions worldwide from infections.

The contraceptive pill arrived in 1960ish, which was often preferred to the use of condoms for preventing pregnancy, followed by the coil and sterilisation.

So condoms have been, and still are, used as a method of birth control way before the introduction of the oral contraceptive pill and as protection against sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) including the now infamous AIDS pandemic, but, also such diseases as gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV. Now buying condoms is much like choosing your favourite sweets. They are multi coloured, multi functioning, ribbed, dotted, flavoured and even prolong ejaculation! Basically, whatever takes your fancy is available and the majority of which is available for you on this site.

INTERESTING FACTS!

 These days condoms come in many shapes and sizes, textures, colours, and even different flavours, if you would like to try an assortment we sell a Lucky Dip selection pack, which is filled with a range of condoms from the selection that are stocked at www.coveredlove.co.uk!

Finally, how many different names can you think of for a condom? Well we have put our thinking heads on and these are a few of the more modern day names: Johnnies, rubbers, prophylactics, condoms, jimmy hat, body bag, french letters, Durex and Mates. If you can think of any other nick names for condoms let us know and we will add it to this piece. You can email us at info@coveredlove.co.uk, whoever comes up with a truly original one will get sent some free condoms as a well done.