Object Details
- Description
- This Close Encounter brand condom was distributed by Barnetts Incorporated of Charlotte, North Carolina during the 1980s. The condom’s packaging features an image of a man and woman embracing, with the text “Close Encounter/Condom with NP-9.” Below the image the text reads “This product combines a latex condom and a spermicidal lubricant. The spermicide nonoxynol-9 reduces the number of active sperm, thereby decreasing the risk of pregnancy if you lose your erection before withdrawal and some semen spill outside the condom. However, the extent of decreased risk has not been established. This condom should not be used as a substitute for the combine use of a vaginal spermicide and a condom.”
- The back of the box reads “Close Encounter/The modern pre-shaped condom with spermicidal lubrication.” The inclusion of spermicidal lubricant was a marked change from the condoms of the early 20th century that were sold “for disease prevention only.” After 1965, the court case, Griswold v Connecticut, opened the door for the sale of condoms as a contraceptive.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- date made
- ca 1980s
- Physical Description
- plastic (overall material)
- paper (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 2 1/8 in x 1 1/2 in x 1/4 in; 5.3975 cm x 3.81 cm x .635 cm
- Object Name
- Condom
- contraceptive, condom, novelty
- Other Terms
- Condom; Contraceptive Devices
