Condoms seem to have almost as many uses as bamboo<\/p>\n
By Chris W. Green<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The English call them \"French Letters\"; the
\nFrench (it is said) call them \"English Letters\". The Americans
\ncall them \"rubbers\", the English word for an eraser (try asking
\nan American secretary for a rubber!). In Indonesia , they have
\nmany names, including karet (rubber), sarung (sheath) and payung
\n(umbrella). And of course the euphemists call them anything but
\ntheir name: prophylactics, preventives, sheaths. But it as
\ncondoms (kondom in Indonesian) that they are best known.<\/p>\n
Although there is a town in southwest France called Condom,
\nthis name appears to have other origins. In fact, condoms are
\nthought to have been named after Colonel Condom, a British Guards
\nofficer, who in the early 18th century wanted to protect his men
\nfrom venereal disease. But in fact their history goes back much
\nfurther, to at least 1350 BC when barriers to prevent such
\ndisease were first mentioned. Their use as contraceptives was
\nfirst documented in the 16th century.<\/p>\n
The first condoms were probably made from animal intestines,
\nand condoms made from lamb's intestines are still available. But
\nsuch materials will not protect from all forms of disease,
\nparticularly HIV. Latex (natural rubber) overcomes this
\nobjection; it has been used for making condoms since the 1930s.
\nMore recently polyurethane condoms have become available,
\noffering an alternative for the small number of people who
\ndevelop an allergy to latex. But latex remains the most popular
\nmaterial for making condoms.<\/p>\n
Although their role in preventing transmission of HIV has
\nbecome increasingly serious, inevitably, given their function,
\nthey have been the subject of much ribaldry, most of which cannot
\nbe repeated here. It is said that during the Second World War,
\nRussia asked assistance from Britain to provide emergency
\nsupplies of condoms, but specified that they should be suitable
\nfor well-endowed Russian men. Churchill, on hearing of this, is
\nreported to have asked for the largest size to be provided, but
\nthat it should be marked \"Small\".<\/p>\n
Condoms seem to have almost as many uses as bamboo. In India,
\nofficials are reported as saying that every year 450 million
\ncondoms, almost half of the number distributed, are used to plug
\nradiator leaks in vehicles or are dyed and sold as balloons. The
\nreport did not note if this also referred to used condoms. Armies
\naround the world provide condoms to slip over the muzzle of
\nrifles to protect them from entry of sand or other matter in
\ndesert or jungle operations (or so they say!). And they are
\nreported to have saved at least one life: following a shipwreck
\nin Eastern Indonesia, one passenger found his toilet kit floating
\nnear him. Being well-prepared, he had a pair of Sutra condoms in
\nthat kit, which he inflated. Using them as \"water wings\", they
\nstayed inflated long enough for him to be saved eight hours
\nlater.<\/p>\n
Moralists will always find fault with condoms, and sometimes
\nquestion their ability to prevent transmission of HIV. Although
\nlatex condoms have been proven over and over again to bar even
\nthe smallest viruses from passing through them, a noted professor
\nof psychiatry from the University of Indonesia still maintains
\nthat even a ten-inch thick condom would still have pores in it
\nwhich would allow transmission of disease. Not only is his
\nassertion inaccurate -- there are no pores in any good quality
\ncondom, the idea of a half-meter diameter condom has given rise
\nto much hilarity.<\/p>\n
Since condoms also have a role in preventing disease
\ntransmission during oral sex, it is natural that manufacturers
\nshould produce condoms for this purpose, with rather more
\npleasant flavors than plain latex. Thus it is possible to obtain
\na variety of fruit-flavored and scented condoms, although one
\nvery high up member of the executive here has questioned why
\nthese are always temperate fruits. \"Why are there no durian-
\nflavored condoms?\" she was reported to have asked.<\/p>\n
Of course, the role played by condoms is really deadly
\nserious. As a previous minister of health in Indonesia put it,
\n\"In the absence of a cure or a vaccine, condoms are the only
\nresponse which public health has to AIDS.\" If used correctly and
\nconsistently, condoms would stop the sexually-transmitted AIDS
\nepidemic in its tracks. Given that more than six million people
\naround the world will die of the disease this year (and over 300
\nmillion will acquire sexually transmitted infections), that would
\nbe a huge success for such a lowly device.<\/p>\n
-- The writer is an AIDS activist<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/condoms-seem-to-have-almost-as-many-uses-as-bamboo-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }