AllTop Viral!

Once upon a time in America, those in search of pleasure without the consequences couldn’t depend on their local general store (with the requisite disapproving clerk) to supply their birth control needs, so these brave pioneers of sexual freedom had to take matters into their own hands. (No, not like that.)

Fortunately, The United States Practical Receipt Book was there with helpful explanations of how to judge the quality of beef, create your own adhesive plasters…and make your own condoms from sheep innards.

Using the cecum — located at the junction of the small and large intestines — and a few lye baths to remove all the yucky stuff, your condom was ready to go once a ribbon was tied around ye olde oak tree, so to speak.

Good to know.

Full story at io9 via Neatorama.

History of birth control.

Photo credit: “Condom with manual from 1813” by User:MatthiasKabel – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons. Graphics credit: Canva