NYC Condom Contest

Vote for your favorite design in the New York City Dept of Public Health’s condom contest. It’s good to see a city government willing to pour money into an ongoing campaign to make condoms cool.

Don’t use for sex!

But definitely use the Chain Condom on your bike. I could use one these for my upcoming cross-country move to Minnesnowta.

Trash Talk with Condom Ads

My partner in crime on the rap stage, dude named TWise living down in Mexico, put me on to this hilarious ad from condom company Tulipan, some pre-match intimidation prior to Argentina facing off against Brazil in soccer.

Kids are so resourceful

Soccer balls made out of condoms and rags in Mozambique. These are kids close to my heart.

My dream pillow

Anyone looking to buy an expensive gift for the Condomologist can head over to Etsy and purchase the one remaining (at press time) hand silkscreened giant condom pillow with giant fabric condom. (Not sure what the fabric condom is for, but I’ll happily wear it next Halloween — with holes poked out to see through, of course.)

Condoms from another era

Author John Crowley reflects on his condom research while writing historical fiction, making sure he gets the terminology from the WWII era just right. The fruits of his labor include some interesting finds, among them some paper envelopes that once contained johnnies (as a British sex historian he communicated with calls them), which were once available as collectibles on ebay. My pick of the litter is the one seen below — because I’m a sucker for all things French — the text of which loosely translates into “Let your love flourish (or grow).”

Pope Backlash Continues

There’s no doubt the Pope riled up emotions with his anti-condom stance a couple months back. But nothing I’ve seen or heard so far has the potential to stir up the masses quite like Belgian artist Ben Heine and this portrayal originally posted on (and then removed from) the Deviant Art website, as reported by Free Thinker, a British site giving voice to Athiest thought. Judge for yourself.

 

Bizarro Condom Ads

From the folks at Web Urbanist comes some creative condom advertising, including some new ones I’d never seen before. The first one’s kinda trippy and clever, and most importantly the message is sex-positive and encourages sexual exploration. The second ad depicts Lil’ Wayne getting arrested, and as his pockets are emptied, the cop finds condoms — the message being at least he’s going down “strapped.” I found it wonderfully ironic, in that my initial reaction was (and still is), I’m surprised Wayne would want to promote condoms by implying that he likes it from behind from another dude. Maybe he can unintentionally do more to eradicate homophobia and promote safer sex among hip-hoppers than he ever desired or thought possible. So Wayne, I request that in addition to your endorsement of Strapped Condoms, you be the one to record the informational video on the site (instead of the white ladies who currently do the voice-overs), since the condoms are clearly targeting the black community. You’d make it much more enjoyable to listen to.

Oh you little Sun Devils

asuwebdevil reports on Safe Sex Week at Arizona State University:  ”Several ASU students spent about an hour and a half trying to affix a large mesh condom atop the spire on the Tempe campus Hayden Lawn on Tuesday with a pulley system of cheap rope, broomsticks and spare shoes. But the members of ASU Advocates for Sexual Health just couldn’t get it up.” We sexual health peoples need the physics nerds to help us from time to time, apparently. Christina Mesiti, president of the student group, helped stich together the condom and remarked on its symbolism: “By putting a condom on the ‘nipple of knowledge,’ we figured it would be, like, the Bat Signal for our cause. It’s our symbol.” And a remarkable one at that, 12-feet wide, using 37 yards of fabric. Looking forward to seeing it when they finally get it up.

 

The Euro Condom…

For your lightbulb. New European guidelines going into effect later this year ban frosted light bulbs, so German designer Ingo Maurer created a heat-resistant silicone sleeve that will turn a clear light bulb into a frosted one. My guess is one is not advised to use these “condoms” for sexual activity. (Hat tip: Ruff)