How condoms work, Explained to fools!
In the 1970s, condoms were the contraceptive victim in many parts of the world. During the Second World War, military leaders tried to stop venereal diseases by distributing condoms to friendly troops and promoted it with slogans such as "put it on before putting it on". When the soldiers returned home, the popularity of condoms had skyrocketed among civilians. But by the 1960s, condoms moved into second place thanks to the pill.
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Since most of the sexually transmitted infections of the time were easy to treat with antibiotics, few people depended on condoms to avoid them.
In the 80's everything changed. The threats of sexually transmitted diseases put condoms back in the spotlight, and more people started using it to protect themselves from AIDS.
History has repeated itself. In the late fifteenth century and early sixteenth century, ships returned to Europe from the New World carrying a new disease - syphilis . Syphilis had no cure for that moment, and people in Europe and Asia did not have natural immunity. Syphilis spread along trade routes, causing dementia, debilitating pain and death.
People created the connection between sex and syphilis, and the condom became a tool to protect against diseases. In 1546, Gabrielle Falloppio, discoverer of the fallopian tubes, wrote the oldest known description of the condom, recommending it as a prevention against syphilis. But not everyone agreed. The French technologist Leonard Lessius, for example, condemned the condom as immoral in 1605.
Falloppio's era of condoms is a bit like the bags found in today's bakeries. And, despite claims to the contrary, Falloppio did not invent the condom.
Continue reading to find out where the condoms come from and why they have been longer with us than we think.
Sausages, horns and other milestones in the history of condoms
Nowadays, it is common knowledge that babies come from the union of an egg and sperm. But this idea is quite recent, the product of numerous discoveries that go through the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The basic concept that the contributions of a man and a woman during sexual activity can result in a baby is much older.
For thousands of years, people all over the world have used a variety of devices to physically maintain these contributions. The main historical competitors were pessaries, or objects placed in the vagina, and condoms.
Today, pessaries were inserted into the vagina to help a woman's pelvic organs when their muscles could no longer stand on their own. But historically, they had a clear contraceptive goal.
How condoms work While people have been using prophylactic condoms for a long time, there is not much clear documentation of the subject until the time of the Roman Empire. Condoms were common in Europe by the days of Shakespeare.
In the mid-1700s, people started using condoms made of animal membrane, tied with a ribbon. The creators of condoms - also creators of balloons - bought intestines and bladders from butchers. Converting intestines into condoms that required cleaning, scraping, sulfur exposure, inflation, drying, molding, cutting and then sewing.
These resulting prophylactics were costly and often filled with holes, which led to Casanova's famous technique of inflating them with air to test them before use. And like the first rubber condoms, their reliability was suspect - and they were reusable.
The birth of the modern condom
How condoms work
Rubber tree extraction was a tradition among South American Indians before the arrival of European explorers. But it was not until Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization in 1839 that rubber took its place in contraceptive history. Direct from the Hevea brasiliensis tree, liquid rubber, or latex, it becomes a substance that is unruly but fragile.
Goodyear used sulfur to oxidize and strengthen the bonds between the rubber molecules, which made it stronger, more elastic and less prone to breaking down over time.
Buying one of the first rubber condoms was not always as simple as going to the local pharmacy. Often, men had to visit their doctors to adapt one professionally. The rubber condoms were considerably thicker than now. One of the first only covered the glans of the penis.
How condoms work In 1919, Frederick Killian broke away from the original method of making rubber condoms, which involved molding vulcanized rubber. Instead, he immersed molds directly in liquid latex. This resulted in thinner, cheaper condoms, and had a longer life expectancy. Then, factories began to produce mass condoms by immersing glass molds in latex vats and using kilns to vulcanize the material.
Latex condoms dominate the market today. Although natural membrane condoms can still be found. The new materials include polymers such as polyisoprene and polyurethane. Nowadays, doctors typically recommend polymer or natural membrane condoms only when either partner is allergic to latex or when disease prevention is not a priority.
Nowadays, latex condoms make up more than 99% of condom sales worldwide. In the next paragraphs we will see how they are made, tested and traded.
The anatomy of latex condoms
How condoms work
The latex condom is a fairly basic invention. It is a tube similar to a bag that is closed at one end - typically with a small reservoir to hold semen. The open end has a thin rim that helps keep the condom in place and makes it easier to roll up the condom while it is being manufactured. Some condoms are flared, gradually shrinking from the closed end to the open end. Others are contoured to fit the shape of the glans and shaft of the penis.
How condoms work The main purpose of the condom is to keep the bodily fluids of different people separate. This is to prevent pregnancy by keeping sperm away from the eggs, and helps prevent diseases that are transmitted primarily through physical contact with sexual fluids, such as semen and vaginal lubricant.
To do this, the condom must cover the penis from the glans to the base. It must be sufficiently adjusted to keep it in place and avoid any leakage, but it can not be so tight because it will inhibit its function. The latex should be thin enough to allow the sensation but not so thin because it increases the risk of breaking. The typical latex condom dimensions of today are:
- Length: at least 160 mm.
- Width: 52 mm.
- Thickness: 0.07 mm.
Powders such as cornstarch, silicon or magnesium carbonate typically cover the final product to prevent the latex from sticking and being difficult to unwind. Lubricated condoms have a slippery fluid, typically made of silicone, applied at the factory. Condoms lubricated with spermicide have an ingredient in the lubricant that kills sperm, such as nonoxynol-9.
However, medical research suggests that the amount of nonoxynol-9 used in condoms has little effect during sexual activity. Since it can cause vaginal irritation, which can make the transmission of diseases more possible, it can do more harm than good.
Latex condom manufacturing
How condoms work
The latex used in condoms comes from rubber trees in Brazil, South Asia or West Africa. Aloe is collected in buckets, but this is not the only ingredient in latex condoms. When it is ready to become a condom, latex may contain:
- Antibacterial and antifungal compounds.
- Zinc oxide, a vulcanization accelerator.
- Potassium of laurel, a stabilizer.
- Sulfur, a vulcanizing agent.
- Ammonia, an anticoagulant.
- Other preservatives and pigments.
Many of these ingredients make latex harder to break. That's why the condoms used should be thrown in the trash, not the toilet.
In the factory, liquid latex is poured into vats. The glass or ceramic molds rotate so that the latex covers them equally. The amount of water in the latex also affects the thickness of the condom - the more water, the thinner the condom is.
How condoms work A brush rolls the latex on the tip of the molds to create the edge at the open end of the condom. Once the immersion and drying process is complete, the molds travel through an oven tunnel, which uses heat to cure the condoms. From there, condoms are removed and washed and very large washers to remove odors, allergens and pathogens.
After a quality test, the condoms are ready to be packed. As a last step, some machines apply lubricant before moving on to the wraps. Typically, condoms are compressed between two layers of laminated aluminum. The packaging has to keep the air and ultraviolet light out, or the condoms will deteriorate. Condoms also have to include an expiration date within five years after they are manufactured.
The machines seal the folio and make perforations where necessary, and the last step is the external packaging, which is usually in a box.
Quality test
How condoms work
There are three basic things that can go wrong with a condom during its use. Starting with the worst, these are:
- Let it break.
- Let it slide.
- Have a leak
Manufacturers test random samples or complete batches to reduce the chances of errors. Since the heat and blades are required in the packaging process, they could also damage them, so a second quality test is performed before the condoms leave the factory.
Many tests focus on the tensile strength of condoms, or strength during stretching. In a test, a pair of bearings are separated, to ensure that the condom can be stretched enough before breaking. Inflation tests also evaluate the strength of condoms - if the inflated condom breaks before reaching the correct volume, the test fails.
How condoms work To test the leak condoms, the technicians fill them with water and hang them for a few minutes. Workers can visually inspect condoms for signs of leakage, but a more accurate test involves rolling the condom filled with water on absorbent paper.
Another leak test, which has a dry and wet mode, requires electricity. In the wet test, the condoms form an insulating layer on a metal rod immersed in a conductive solution. When electricity passes through the solution, it also passes through any holes or thin spots in the condom. A computer detects the current and determines which condom failed the test.
The dry test uses a stronger shake of electricity. A conductive material passes over the condoms on electrified metal rods, and the current passes through the holes or thin spots, melting or burning the affected condom.
Medical researchers and third parties also evaluate the materials used to make condoms and whether condoms are effective for their use. For example, a medical researcher can evaluate the size of any tiny sphere of plastic that penetrates a condom to make sure that any hole is too small to prevent the entry of pathogens.
These tests do not involve slipping - this has more to do with how the condom is used than with the condom itself. So, what is the best way to use a condom so it does not slip?