Origami Condoms Redesign Traditional Rubbers
As previously reported by Wall Street Insanty, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has offered $100,000 to any individual or group that can build a better condom. The traditional latex condom has seen “very little technological improvement in the last 50 years,” and the foundation is seeking ideas to improve its design so that condoms not only enhance sexual experience but “increase the ease-of-use for male and female condoms, for better packaging or designs that are easier to apply. In addition, attributes that address and overcome cultural barriers are also desired.”
Enter the Origami condom. Founders Daniel Resnic and Ray Chavez hope to improve safe sex with a new design that uses silicon instead of latex. The material is not only stretchier, but it’s also more effective at blocking viruses and bacteria. A prototype of the Origami condom has been used in demonstrations to show how its internal lubrication allows it to be slipped on faster—2.8 seconds according to the company’s Web site—and its folded design—similar to an accordion—does not require it to be unrolled over the penis. The fluid internal lining supposedly mimics the vaginal environment, so the condom more closely mimics sex without a condom for men, and its external ridges along the folds enhance sexual experience much like a sex toy.
Origami wasn’t designed specifically for Gates’ contest. In fact, the project has been a personal passion—no pun intended—for Resnic for the past 20 years. In 1993 he was infected with HIV after a condom broke. Since that time, he used his background in design to study the ways the traditional condom could be improved. How ironic would it be if that 20-year journey ultimately won Gates’ challenge?
Origami hasn’t only designed the traditional male condom. The company has also recreated the female condom—which has failed to take off since its introduction nearly 20 years ago—and a condom designed specifically for receptive anal intercourse. Yes, that’s right, the first butt fuck rubber. According to Origami’s Web site, the condom can be worn internally by passive male or female partners, and “is intended to facilitate a pleasurable and safe experience for both partners, increase its acceptability, improve sensation and comfort, and influence consistence condom compliance for those who practice anal intercourse and are at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS and STI/STD.”
As awesome as they sound, the Origami condoms aren’t expected to be as cheap as… say… Trojans or Lifestyles. And you won’t be able to stick them in your wallet. Origami will be packaged in golf-ball-sized pods. And don’t think you can run out to Walgreen’s and buy any just yet, either. Any new condom designs have to undergo rigorous multi-phase testing before the FDA will approve them. Therefore, it’s unlikely Origami will hit the market until early 2015 at the earliest.
