Here's a simple timeline about the development of the Condom over the last 3000 years, followed by some common questions and answers about the effectiveness of Condoms.
1000 BC
Condom use can be traced back several thousand years. It is known that around 1000 BC the ancient Egyptians used a linen sheath for protection against disease.
100 - 200 AD
The earliest evidence of condom use in Europe comes from scenes in cave paintings at Combarelles in France.
1500's
The first known published description and trials regarding prophylactic condom use were recorded in Italy. Gabrielle Fallopius claimed to have invented a sheath made of linen, and conducted trials amongst 1,100 men using the condom, none of whom became infected with Syphilis. Having been found useful for prevention of infection, it was only later that the usefulness of the condom for the prevention of pregnancy was recognised.
Later in the 1500s one of the first improvements to the condom was made, when the linen cloth sheaths were sometimes soaked in a chemical solution and then allowed to dry prior to use. These were the first spermicides on condoms.
1700's
Condoms made out of animal intestines began to be available. However they were quite expensive and the unfortunate result was that they were often reused. This type of condom was described at the time as "an armour against pleasure, and a cobweb against infection".
1844
Goodyear and Hancock began to mass produce condoms made out of vulcanised rubber. Vulcanisation is a process which turns crude rubber into a strong elastic material.
1861
The first advertisement for condoms was published in an American newspaper when The New York Times printed an ad. for "Dr. Power's French Preventatives."
1873
The Comstock Law was passed. Named after Anthony Comstock, the Comstock Law made illegal the advertising of any sort of birth control, and it also allowed the postal service to confiscate condoms sold through the mail.
1880's
The first latex condom was produced, although it was to be the 1930s before these were in widespread use. By 1935 1.5 million condoms were being produced each day in the United States.
1980's and 1990's
During most of the 1980s American manufacturers dominated the American condom market. Then in 1987 a Japanese brand called Kimono became available in the USA. This condom was thinner and well lubricated and it's advertisements emphasised pleasure as well as protection. Subsequently the 1990s saw the introduction of a large number of different types of condom. Also in the 1990s the first polyurethane condom became available.
By 1993 the annual production of natural latex condoms had reached 8.5 billion.