Condoms are often advertised for being the most inexpensive and a reliable method of birth control. The use of condoms have been supported as well as opposed by various organisations across the world. In this article, we bring to you, some funny, strange, weird and informative facts related to Condoms.
1.0 When it was announced that Rio de Janeiro would hold the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the jokes started flying about what would be the number of condoms ordered by the committee. The Officials have ordered a record number of 450,000 condoms for more than 10,000 athletes housed in the Olympic Village. The International Olympic committee is providing 350,000 male condoms, 100,000 female condoms, and 175,000 packets of lubricant.  The distribution of free condoms started at Seoul Olympic in 1988 when 8500 condoms were distributed. In Sydney in year 2000, officials had to face the shortage of  20,000 condoms inspite of distributing 70,000 condoms that ran out midway through the Games. Perhaps that is why the IOC is providing triple the 150,000 condoms it offered in London Olympics in 2012, when athletes each received 15 for the 17-day Games. That’s why the 450,000 condoms are being distributed in Rio.
2.0 Mechai Viravaidya , is a former politician and activist in Thailand who promoted condoms, family planning and AIDS awareness in Thailand. Since the 1970s, Mechai has been affectionately known as “Mr. Condom”, and condoms are often referred as “mechais” in Thailand. From the time that he began his work, the average number of children in Thai families has decreased from 7 to 1.5.
3.0 The German military was the first to promote the use of condoms among its soldiers during the World WarI thus significantly lowering the rates of sexually transmitted diseases. At that time, The United States and Britain were the only countries with which did not provided condoms to its soldiers.
4.0 In March 2010, the Swiss government announced that it was planning to promote smaller condoms intended for boys and youths of 12–14 years old following concern about the pregnancy rate among adolescent girls, and also about the potential spread of AIDS among this age group. This was due to the fact that standard condoms were too wide and consequently failed to afford protection to adolescent boys during intercourse. As a result of this, a condom aimed at 12 to 14 year old boys is now produced and is available in Switzerland and in certain other countries. Manufactured by Ceylor, the “Hotshot” is a lubricated, teat-ended latex condom which is narrower than a standard condom and has a tight band at the opening to ensure that it remains
5.0 But taking lessons from the previous experiences, condoms were not only distributed to male U.S. military members, but also heavily promoted with films, posters, and lectures in World War II. Condoms were also used in World War II  for multiple purposes like covering the muzzles of rifle barrels to prevent fouling, the water proofing of firing assemblies in underwater demolitions and storage of corrosive materials and  by paramilitary agencies. on the youth’s penis during intercourse. A standard condom has a diameter of 2 inches (5.2 cm) whereas the Hotshot has a diameter of 1.7 inches (4.5 cm). Both are the same length–7.4 inches (19 cm).
6.0 The anti-rape condom is another variation of condoms designed to be worn by women. It is designed to cause pain to the attacker, hopefully allowing the victim a chance to escape.
7.0 Japan has the highest rate of condom usage in the world, almost 80%, of contraceptive use. In Japan, oral contraceptives were not approved for use until September 1999, and even then access was more restricted than in other industrialized nations. Perhaps because of this restricted access to hormonal contraception, Japan has the highest rate of condom usage in the world.
8.0 In the late 1950s, the American National Association of Broadcasters banned condom advertisements from national television and this policy remained in place until 1979.
9.0 In the African continent, “The Maasai” in Tanzania, condom use is hampered by an aversion to “wasting” sperm, which is given sociocultural importance beyond reproduction. Sperm is believed to be an “elixir” to women and to have beneficial health effects. Maasai women believe that, after conceiving a child, they must have sexual intercourse repeatedly so that the additional sperm aids the child’s development. Frequent condom use is also considered by some Maasai to cause impotence. Some women in Africa believe that condoms are “for prostitutes” and so the respectable women should not use them.
10.0 Condom sales increased every year until 1994, when media’s attention to the AIDS pandemic began to decline. The phenomenon of decreasing use of condoms as disease preventive has been called prevention fatigue or condom fatigue. Observers have cited condom fatigue in both Europe and North America. As one response, manufacturers have changed the tone of their advertisements from scary to humorous.
11.0 In India ,in 2006, a study on penis size done by the Indian Council of Medical Research made headlines when it was discovered that approximately 60 percent of surveyed Indian men had penises several centimetres shorter than the standard used in producing condoms. This disparity of size led to a high rate of failure, with condoms tearing or falling off about 20 percent of the time, a serious issue given the prevalence of AIDS.
12.0 In Australia, It is illegal for children to purchase alcohol, cigarettes or condoms, but they are not prohibited from using them.
13.0 This problem of small penis size is not only confined to India. In 2015, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health made the announcement that sexually transmitted diseases among the country’s youth had increased nearly fivefold in a decade. According to the statement, “It is due to the fact that only 43 percent (of teenagers) use condoms—and also because they choose condoms that are too big for their actual sizes and they are afraid they will be mocked for being too small.”
14.0 The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) had directed TV and Radio channels to “immediately stop” airing advertisements marketing contraceptives and family planning products, according to a notification issued to all media outlets in start of 2016. The decision was taken, said the notification, in light of complaints received by Pemra against “undesired” contraceptives commercials being broadcast on electronic media. But after some time, the directive was taken back after a massive public backlash.
15.0 Recently while watching IPL-8, you must have seen a condom logo on the t-shirts of Kings XI Punjab team. According to a report in a leading newspaper, the Manforce logo on KXIP jersey did leave quite a few players blushing.
16.0 The latest battle between a Chinese and a Japanese company erupted on the issue of thickness of  condoms. The question was , whose condom is thinner?  But later a court in Guangzhou’s Yuexiu District ruled that Japanese condom company Okamoto must immediately stop advertising its condoms as the world’s thinnest and remove condom packages. Actually the Okamoto company holded the world record of the thinnest condom which was later challenged in court by a Chinese company, Daming Aoni. The case was won by Daming Aoni, a company founded in 1992. The Guinness World Records verified in December 2013 that Daming Aoni’s condom was indeed the thinnest latex winner. The Aoni has an average thickness of 0.036 mm, while Okamoto’s clocks in at 0.038 mm, according to the Guinness World Records.
17.0 In Bollywood  famous actress like Pooja Bedi, Poonam Pandey, Sameera Reddy, Sunny Leone had featured in Condom ads on Indian television. Condom ads and sex is no longer a taboo for Bollywood celebrities in India. Recently Ranveer Singh was also seen in a condom ad. It is not an unusual thing to see Bollywood celebs in Condom Ads on TV, these days.
18.0 You must have heard the name of Umpire Dickie Bird ,who used to jump on the scores of 111, 222, 333 and so on.A bronze statue of cricket legend Dickie Bird had to be lifted upto five feet to put an end to people hanging condoms, knickers and bras on his iconic raised finger. The life-size statue of the umpire – renowned for pointing and shouting ‘you’re off!’ – has become a target for drunken revellers in Barnsley Town Centre since it was unveiled in 2009.
19.0 Some smugglers have also found a different use of condoms. Condoms have also been used to smuggle alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs across borders and into prisons by filling the condom with drugs, tying it in a knot and then either swallowing it or inserting it into the rectum. These methods are very dangerous and potentially lethal if the condom breaks, the drugs inside become absorbed into the bloodstream and can cause an overdose.