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Published on: 12/30/2000
Last Visited: 5/7/2001
The earliest known depictions go back to the Stone Age , said Jon Knowles , a public information officer for Planned Parenthood who has studied and written about the history of condoms.There are also illustrations of what might be condoms dating back 3 , 000 years to ancient Egypt.Condoms made from fish and animal intestines have been found in the ruins of English castles and dated to the 1600s , Knowles said.
Historians disagree about the origin of the word.Some say it began with a Dr.
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Whatever the origin of the word , condoms were widely made and used by the early 19th century , Knowles said.It was a cottage industry , but it didn't become big business until the late 19th century.
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Even then , however , condom makers were producing the goods and shipping them overseas , Knowles said.In World War I , U.S. condom makers sold their products to other armies while U.S. soldiers were denied and thus suffered higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases , he said.
Slowly , the Comstock laws were repealed.The last of them was overturned in 1965 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that adults have a right to information about contraception.
Carter-Wallace's predecessor , The Carter Medicine Co. , got its start during the time the Comstock laws were in effect , in 1880 , though condoms weren't its business then.The company originally sold only one product , Carter's Little Liver Pills , which became quite the rage , according to a brief history of the company on its Web site.
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That frustrates health advocates such as Knowles , who see free and open information about contraception as the best way to reduce unwanted pregnancies and the spread of disease.
It's really amazing how many of the major broadcasters won't carry a condom ad , and the ones that do put them on at strange moments when no one's watching , Knowles said.
Despite the ongoing debate over the promotion of condoms , English said he and other workers take pride in what they do.Every condom produced by the plant could help save a life , and English said his greatest job satisfaction comes from running the plant well..
We're making something that's worthwhile and that's useful to a lot of people , he said.
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To see more of the Richmond Times-Dispatch , or to subscribe to the newspaper , go to http : //www.gateway-va.com/.
( c ) 2001 , Richmond Times-Dispatch , Va. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.CAR , KO ,.
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