Bill Gates Condom Challenge Inspires The Condom Applicator Slingshot Gun
In their fight against HIV/AIDS, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Grand Challenges in Global Health is offering 100,000 USD to anyone who can develop a next generation of condoms. Male condoms are cheap and easy but the decrease in pleasure have made many decide against it while female condoms are difficult to use. The next generation of condoms should address this problems to increase condom use during sex.
By Mei Mei Chu — 24 Mar 2013, 05:08 PM — Updated about 11 years ago
Condom applicator slingshot gun, shoots 'rubber' onto penises
Jörg Sprave of The Slightshot Channel has designed a humorous yet painful-looking device that makes wearing condoms ‘much easier’
blogspot.sg
Called the ‘Condom Applicator Slingshot Gun’, the contraption shoots condoms onto male penises.
designtaxi.comTo work the gun, simply place a condom in the chamber, ‘cock the gun’, place it over a penis and shoot. Guys, would you use this slingshot gun to wear a condom?
blogspot.sg
Bill Gates Condom Challenge inspires fun packaging
It could even tell a story what would happen if condoms are not being used.
Image via stocklogos.com
Bill Gates asked condoms to be redesigned. Art Director Irina Block thinks there is nothing wrong with condoms. The problem lies in boring packaging. So she took up the task to give examples of how it can be redesigned.
According to her, the packaging can be a fun reminder of why we need a condom in the first place. Or it could tell a story what would happen if condoms are not being used.
100,000 USD if you can develop a next generation of condoms
The Gates Foundation is offering one inventor $100,000 to improve one of life's most recognizable products: the condom.
dailymail.co.ukIn partnership with Grand Challenges in Global Health, Bill Gates is offering a $100,000 grant to students, scientists, or entrepreneurs that want to create the world’s next-generation condom.
venturebeat.com
Applications go until May for a 'Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use.'
dailymail.co.ukProposals must have a "testable hypothesis, include an associated plan for how the idea would be tested or validated and yield data" to receive continued funding toward development.
mashable.comIdeas that prove too expensive for widespread use in the developing world, or those that don't do the job of preventing pregnancy or disease transmission will be dismissed right off the bat.
mashable.comIdeas for a better condom and other global health innovations are being accepted at GrandChallenges.org.
mashable.comThe challenge to build better condoms
We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use.
grandchallenges.orgAdditional concepts that might increase uptake include attributes that increase ease-of-use for male and female condoms, for example better packaging or designs that are easier to properly apply.
grandchallenges.orgIn addition, attributes that address and overcome cultural barriers are also desired.
grandchallenges.orgWhat is wrong with the existing condoms?
The major obstacle to condom consistent usage is that men say they get more sexual pleasure without them.
Given that the decision on whether to use a condom is made a few minutes or seconds before intercourse, it often remains unused.
What about female condoms? - they need to be inserted properly, this needs training. They are not cheap. A significant number of men don't like them.
While negotiating use of female condoms may be easier than male condoms, this need for negotiation precisely illustrates the barrier preventing greater use that we seek to address through this call.
grandchallenges.orgSo a cheaper, simpler female condom might also help reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and spread of STIs, including HIV/AIDS.
mashable.comClick to read more condom fun facts
Unlike the traditional condom that’s designed to fit snugly over a penis, the female condom is looser fitting and female get to wear.
Image via cervicalbarriers.org
The female condom is a contraceptive and safer-sex tool made out of polyurethane—a stronger, thinner, but less elastic material than latex.
Image via wikimedia.org
Condoms have been in use for about 400 years yet they have undergone very little technological improvement in the past 50 years.
Image via kualalumpurpost.net
The current rate of global production is 15 billion units/year with an estimated 750 million users and a steadily growing market.
Image via lipstiq.com
Condom reliably protect females from pregnancy and both partners from numerous STIs, including HIV transmission, making them a prime example of a multi-purpose prevention technology (MPT).
Image via georgetownvoice.com
Condoms have been around a long, long time. The earliest known illustration of a man using a condom is a 12,000–15,000-year-old painting on the wall of a cave in France.
Image via tulane.edu
When it comes to HIV,using a condom makes sex 10,000 times safer than not using a condom
Image via petaasiapacific.comAbout the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Started in 1997, The Gates Foundation is a grant-making foundation that supports initiatives in education, world health and population, and community giving in the Pacific Northwest.
gatesfoundation.orgOUR GOAL:
to significantly reduce the incidence of HIV infection and extend the lives of people living with HIV.