The future is cuming, it’s cuming is now! The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have, after much deliberation (probably by doing sexuals #libel), announced the winners of their worldwide search to find the perfect condom.
In the words of the foundation: “We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use.” The thought behind the search being that, if there were condoms that were easier to use and a bit more For Her/His Pleasure, rates of STD/HIV infection would decrease.
They asked “Is it possible to develop a product without this stigma, or better, one that is felt to enhance pleasure? If so, would such a product lead to substantial benefits for global health, both in terms of reducing the incidence of unplanned pregnancies and in prevention of infection with HIV or other STIs?” Even though it is definitely ‘uterUS, not uterME’ and both partners should always be equally responsible for and willing to use contraception, ultimately it will probably be the knowledge that using a condom can make sex better that will make everyone more inclined to dom-up.
In the end they had over 800 ideas come in from inventors, designers and biochemists all across the world, with the eleven winners now being supplied with a $100,000 grant to begin researching production – and, if successful, the foundation will lay down the cash to distribute them.
Winners include:
. Willem van Rensburg of Kimbranox Ltd. in South Africa will test a condom applicator, the Rapidom, which is designed for easy, technique-free application of male condoms. Kimbranox will test an applicator designed to be applied with one motion, thereby minimizing interruption.
. The ‘ultrasensitive reconstituted collagen condom‘ by Apex Medical Technologies. The proposed condom would apparently feel like skin and is looking to be made from either fish skin or collagen fibers from cows’ Achilles tendons. The president of the company, Mark McGlothlin, said “They’re unbelievably strong, I could yank all day and not break this thing.”
. Benjamin Strutt and a team from Cambridge Design Partnership in the United Kingdom will design a male condom out of a composite material that will provide a universal fit and is designed to gently tighten during intercourse, enhancing sensation and reliability.
So yeah…good one, dudes.
COWABUNGA!
via The New York Times, Refinery 29 and Grand Challenges
