History of Contraceptives A long time ago in a galaxy far far away……..

3000 B.C The condom is invented in Egypt. Ancient drawings clearly depict men wearing condoms - sometimes made of material that may have been animal hide.

1850 B.C. Meet the pessary. It's the earliest contraceptive device for women. Pessaries are objects or concoctions inserted into the vagina to block or kill sperm. By 1850 B.C., Egyptians used pessaries made of crocodile dung, honey, and sodium carbonate.

600 B.C. Greek colonists found Celene in North Africa. Soon after, they discover a great treasure: Silphion was reputedly the first oral contraceptive. However, Silphion was harvested to extinction by 100 A.D.

1640 A.D. The oldest known condoms -- dated to about are found in Dudley Castle near Birmingham, England. They were made of fish and animal intestines. Condoms were used to protect against STIs and not pregnancy.

1734 Young Giacomo Girolamo Casanova begins his amorous career. He is among the first to use condoms to prevent pregnancy. Said to prefer condoms made from lamb intestine -- still the preferred material for natural gut condoms -- he also used linen condoms tied off with a ribbon.

1844 Charles Goodyear patents vulcanization of rubber. Soon, rubber condoms are mass produced. Unlike modern condoms -- made to be used once and thrown away -- early condoms were washed, anointed with petroleum jelly, and put away in special wooden boxes for later reuse.

The U.S. contraceptive industry flourishes. IUDs,, diaphragms and cervical caps (then called "womb veils"), and "male caps" that covered only the tip of the penis.

1873 The U.S. Congress passes the Comstock laws. The law makes all forms of contraception illegal. The contraceptive industry continues to flourish -- but the devices are now sold to promote "feminine hygiene."

1880s Penniless New York City immigrant Julius Schmid gets extra sausage casings from butcher shops and makes them into skin condoms.

1898 Nineteen-year-old Margaret Sanger's mother dies at age 50, exhausted from giving birth to 11 children. Later she turns her attention to the development of better contraceptives. Her dream: A birth control pill.

1906 Cyrus McCormick wife, Katherine, forms a partnership with birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger. She funds contraception research with her sizeable fortune. This work eventually leads to the development of the birth control pill.

The most popular female contraceptive is Lysol disinfectant. Despite its longstanding popularity, Lysol does not work as a contraceptive.

1960 The Searle drug company receives FDA approval for Enovid - the first birth control pill. "The Pill" revolutionizes contraception. It's 100% effective -- but has terrible side effects, including life-threatening blood clots. Eventually it's realized that the dose is 10 times too high.

1965 The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the Comstock laws that banned contraception.

1976 A T-shaped IUD is approved by the FDA, and other designs follow. These devices are inserted by doctors and provide birth control for up to 10 years. They fall out of favor after one - the Dalkon Shield - is found to cause pelvic inflammatory disease in some women.

1980s The modern, low-dose, two- and three- phase birth control pills become available.

1992 The FDA approves the first hormone shot to prevent pregnancy for several months at a time -- Depo Provera.

1998 The first emergency contraception is approved by the FDA. Women can take pills up to 72 hours after sex to prevent pregnancy. Known as Plan B.

Four new birth control products are approved by the FDA - the first in a decade. Ortho Evra, a birth control "patch,“ NuvaRing – 3 weeks Lunelle is a monthly hormone injection. Mirena is an IUD effective for 5 years

2003 The first continuous birth control pill, which women take every day to suppress their periods and provide birth control. Seasonale schedules four menstrual periods a year.

???? Who knows what the future holds?