The earliest evidence of European condom use was cave paintings at Les Combarelles found in the Dordogne area of Southern France in 100 - 200 ADEgyptian tribesmen used sheaths for ritual reasons and to protect themselves against insect bites, injury and infection in 1350 - 1220 BCGabrielle Fallopius invented a condom made of linen to protect men from syphilis in the 1500s. It was tested on 1,100 men - none of whom became infected with syphilis, providing an early demonstration of the effectiveness of condoms to help protect against STDs
In 1758 Casanova used condoms as a contraceptive to prevent his lovers becoming pregnant
In the mid 1800s the revolutionary discovery of rubber vulcanisation had moved condom production nearer to where we are today and it became possible to mass-produce more reliable and less expensive products including condoms
A second technical revolution took place in the manufacture of condoms with the introduction of liquid latex in the 1930s
Condoms are now also made from polyurethane
Condoms began to be sold in pubs, grocery stores and supermarkets throughout the world in the 1980s.
