Since people have been engaging in sexual activities, they have been hoping to be able
to in some way control or prevent pregnancy.
This has led to some questionable if not flat out dangerous innovations.
From animal poop and intestines, to honey and stones, to mercury and even tortoise shells,
from ancient times on people have tried anything and everything as a type of contraceptive.
While some may have been effective, many were not, and some were even deadly.
Let’s discuss all of these different creations over time in this episode of the Infographics
Show, The Horrible History of Contraception.
In 1850 BCE the Egyptians used the waste of their crocodilian friends of the Nile in their
out-of-the-box efforts to prevent pregnancy.
Fortunately, it was at least dried out before being inserted into a woman’s genitalia
and mixed first with a bit of sticky honey.
Those who used it assumed it would soften and expand to form a barrier to sperm once
inside.
As the preferred food of the Nile crocodile is fish, though it will also feast upon decaying
carrion, one can only guess how pleasant its’ feces and its smell is.
It’s likely something that even the sweetness of honey couldn’t fix.
To add insult to injury it also didn’t work.
In fact, crocodile dung changes the pH of the body and thus actually improves the odds
of conceiving.
By 1550 BCE the Egyptians began to mix it up with applications of acacia leaves and
honey.
These would sometimes be combined with wool and lint as a type of sperm-fighting tampon.
Now, whoever came up with this idea was really onto something.
Acacia ended up fermenting into lactic acid within the woman’s body, which does have
true spermicidal properties.
Further, the application of wool or lint in the vaginal opening became an effective physical
barrier to sperm seeking entry.
While it was described in ancient Cretan manuscripts two thousand years earlier, the Egyptians
were among the first known group to wear a rudimentary condom in 1000 BCE.
Though at this point in history they were made of linen and intended more for disease
prevention than as a form of birth control.
Beyond this, they were even colored and flaunted as a type of status symbol among Egyptian
men.
We have mixed feelings about whether or not we are sad this is no longer done.
By 700 BCE Romans were using the bladders of goats, sheep and other unfortunate animals
as a type of condom similarly to the Egyptians.
Because nothing says let’s get it on like the application of a hollowed-out animal organ
that once stored animal urine.
However, even at this time, they were still mostly worn to protect women from sexually
transmitted infections and in the interest of public health rather than to avoid pregnancy.
It is believed that later on the Djukas tribe in New Guinea began to recognize them for
their current use in family planning.
They also designed a nifty woman’s condom in efforts at conception prevention.
By 220 BCE Romans came up with the worst idea yet, worse than using animal organs or crocodile
poop.
A popular method of the region was to place a hard stone or bronze object up into the
woman’s reproductive tract.
This worked as a diaphragm or a cervical cap, but we can safely assume it was far less comfortable
than pliable modern-day versions.
Dioscorides, a Greek doctor in ancient times, suggested using peppermint oil when inserting
an object of this type meant to block or kill sperm.
This would have numbed the area and given the woman more comfort during intercourse.
But we’re still going to call this a bad idea nonetheless.
Roman gynecologist Soranus had several suggestions of his own.
The first was that women should abstain from sex during their periods, which he thought
was their most fertile time and when they would be most likely to get pregnant.
Of course, for those with a regular and predictable cycle, this is not the case.
He also believed that women should stop breathing while the man finished and then proceed to
perform squats and sneeze to fight the sperm’s movement in a strange combination of downward
pressure and gravity.
Finally, they were instructed to clean themselves in order to fully avoid pregnancy.
For obvious reasons, this approach was less effective than those that used things such
as natural spermicides or forms of cervical blockage.
Somewhat surprisingly, it was biblical texts that followed that described a much less complex
method.
The Old Testament which experts believe was first written in ancient Hebrew and originated
in either the 6th century B.C. or, due to newly discovered evidence, as far back as
4 centuries prior, detailed the pull-out method.
It was specifically in Genesis when talking about the actions of a man named Onan that
this alternative method still practiced today was first mentioned.
Specifically, Onan used it so that his semen fell to the ground and would not impregnate
his brother’s wife.
He was then struck dead by God, some believe, because he attempted to separate pleasure
from the responsibilities of creating life.
This indicates that anywhere from this time on men and women were aware of this way to
supposedly delay or prevent parenthood.
However, many refer to it not as the pull-out method but instead as the pull and pray one.
They have a good reason.
Doctors find that 28 of every 100 women who use this as their sole form of contraception
will become pregnant within the span of a year.
In the case of 10th century Persia, it’s likely that the chances of women conceiving
were even higher.
This is because they followed beliefs that had women not squatting down but jumping in
the backwards direction.
They were told to jump a magical number of times which would encourage any sperm within
them to fall out.
Those who failed to jump seven or nine times would not experience any benefits while those
who did would remain baby-free.
If only it were that easy.
In contrast, the ancient Chinese habit of drinking liquid mercury or ingesting mercury
tablets definitely made an impact, though not its intended one.
While they were hoping it would prevent pregnancy, it’s not exactly known how much of an effect
it had in that area.
Unless we are talking about a woman’s death and thus her inability to do anything at all
let alone procreate.
This is because mercury is a highly poisonous neurotoxin that can cause muscle weakness
and twitching, headaches, respiratory failure, and, as we just mentioned, an untimely death.
For these reasons, this practice was eventually discontinued.
12th century China had more success as a result of the country’s use of a less fatal method.
Taking advantage of their vast knowledge in the production of silk, they created a penile
sheath of silk paper.
To this they also added some oily lube.
However, the purpose of this oil was not only to enhance pleasure but in the belief it could
also help impair sperm health and movement.
China was not the only area to have a few historical rough patches in their pregnancy
prevention technology.
Dangerous contraceptive measures were also used in 4th century Greece.
In addition to the likely pleasant combinations of frankincense and cedar oils, thought to
act as spermicides, women would sometimes anoint themselves internally with lead.
They would even drink the water used by blacksmiths, contaminated with the same metal, for pregnancy
termination purposes.
Unfortunately, lead poisoning is quite serious and can lead to increased blood pressure,
pain, impaired memory, headaches, and mental disorders.
It does cause a lower sperm count in men and miscarriage, premature birth, or stillbirth
among the babies of women, but it does so at a cost.
Incredibly, sources claim that women thought of lead exposure as helpful for pregnancy
prevention as late in history as World War 1.
While technically safer than metal ingestion, 13th century Japan ranks up there with the
Rome’s use of bronze objects or rocks for the method likely to bring the least comfort
of pleasure to women, let alone men.
One civilization created what was called a Kabuta-Gata which was essentially a covering
for the male reproductive organ made from the shell of a tortoise.
The good news was that it was also, though much more infrequently, fashioned from a more
pliable leather.
In the case of a shell, nothing says romance like a hard, inflexible covering on your appendage.
The good thing about the contraption was that those with erectile dysfunction could often
treat or disguise their condition.
It is likely that the recipient of their affections would be unaware of almost anything but their
pain.
It was in the 14th century that anatomist Gabriele Falloppio suggested the use of a
superior condom in England.
These protective covers weren’t as fancy as Chinese silken versions but were better
than Japanese shells and were made out of linen.
Further, they had some extra decoration and were tied off at the top with a flair of ribbon.
During the European Renaissance condoms made out of animal intestines became increasingly
popular.
This was in an effort to, once again, prevent disease transmission as well as to keep in
check any nightly transgressions of the royals that would result in illegitimate children.
Any intestines were fair game, from the smaller fish to larger sheep depending on the size
necessary.
The Middle Ages of Europe saw some stranger trends in contraception efforts.
Women were given weasel testicles and were instructed to tie them on their bodies while
engaging in sexual activities.
It’s hard to picture getting down and dirty with reproductive organs from a furry mammal
wrapped around your thighs or neck.
However, in England at the time this was not only an accepted but encouraged thing to do.
The Elizabethan period in 16th century England brought about some less disgusting though
potentially quite painful ideas.
Women were told to wash their intimate areas both externally and internally with acetic
acid, or in other words, vinegar.
Prostitutes of the time would soak sponges in the stuff and then apply it before intercourse
as a way to kill off sperm.
As we just mentioned, this contains acid, though it is quite dilute.
However, in the case of any cuts or sores it would be sure to sting quite intensely.
Another stinging object was described in the memoirs of the infamous Italian heartthrob
Glaucoma Casanova.
Casanova was rumored to have seduced many of the female population and knew a thing
or two about not ruining romance with daddy duty.
His technique was to cut a lemon in half and then hollow out all of its insides.
This hollowed half a fruit would then be inserted inside the woman as a type of cervical cap.
This natural approach was mimicked much later on with rubber versions that used the same
underlying concept.
These were available on the market by 1927.
Surprisingly, crazy contraception ideas weren’t reserved for just long-ago societies.
As recently as the 1950s, people believed that the carbonic acid within carbonated soft
drinks would kill sperm and that their sugar content induced sperm combustion.
After intercourse women would take a bottle, shake it up, and then insert it within themselves
while opening it.
While this was undoubtedly quite entertaining to observe it was rather unsurprisingly proven
to be not at all effective.
Clearly, despite this strange 1950 behavior, contraception has made significant strides
since antiquity.
We can be quite glad for the improvements to these scary, at times painful, and occasionally
deadly attempts at birth control throughout history.
Though in some areas, changes did not take place to make modern forms of birth control
widely available, let alone acceptable until surprisingly recently.
All forms of contraception were illegal in Ireland in 1935 until 1985, though the pill
was available in the instance of a medical disorder.
The pill wasn’t available in the United States until 1960 when it received FDA approval
and in Japan it wasn’t legalized until as recently as 1999.
Though, as they say, better late than never.
Now that we’ve covered this horrible history of contraception, we wonder, will you ever
look at honey, lemons, or soda the same way again?
Let us know in the comments!
Also, be sure to check out our other video called Worst Punishments In History of Mankind!
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!