Condom

[sillydoll]

A bit of light relief from this blogger to end off your weekend!

FRENCH LETTER

It has just occured to me that we English call condoms “French Letters” and the French call them “capotes anglaises”; capote meaning ‘hood’ or even ‘bonnet’, which makes me imagine a willy wearing a little rubber Bo Peep bonnet, tied on with ribbons and all. So, French Letter, Capote Anglaise – why is everyone so desperate to lump the blame on the other nation? In my opinion it’s a marvellous invention – I thought they’d all be racing to snap up responsability for this clever little rubber sheath. So where did condoms actually come from? I wikipedia-ed ‘condom’ and discovered that there is evidence of them existing before the fifteenth century in Asia, China and Japan, but the earliest uncontested description of condom use is Italian Gabriele Fallopio’s treatise on syphilis. He describes linen sheaths soaked in a chemical solution and allowed to dry before use. The cloths were sized to cover the glans (that’s head, helmet or end-of-bell to you) of the penis, and were held on with a ribbon. Which brings us back to Bo Peep.

The term condom first appears in the early 18th century but its etymology is unknown, or at least, disputed. In England, the popular belief is that the invention and naming of the condom came to be attributed to one “Dr. Condom” or “Earl of Condom”, but there is no proof that he ever existed. Just The Sun making it up again then. In France there exists a town called Condom and the land in front of the town’s signpost is suffering from serious soil erosion following years of Brits stopping their cars and getting out to stand in front of the sign while their holiday partner takes a hilarious photo. However, Condom is in fact famous for being a resting place for weary pilgrims on their way to St-Jacques-de-Compostelle. In 1319 a hospital was built to tend to the weariest of the pilgrims, those whose water gourd had a leak or who’d forgotten to put sun factor in their rucksack. The founder of the hospital? … Cardinal Teste. I’m not joking. I love it when a plan comes together.


And, the title of the blog?

http://inagainoutagain.wordpress.com/

 

[MichaelB10398]

Here I am reading before going off to bed and count sheep, but now I have visions of little bows on everything. Much less putting a sheath on all that passes through my mind.

Alas, you have at least given me a chuckle before off to sleep, but it is going to be an effort to expunge the bows.

Continued Peace to you all,

 

[andy.d]

Thanks Sil. What we need to know now is whether Johnnie Walker took his spurtle on the Camino Hogmanay.

Andy

 

[nellpilgrim]

A bit of light relief from this blogger to end off your weekend!

FRENCH LETTER

'It has just occured to me that we English call condoms “French Letters” and the French call them “capotes anglaises”; capote meaning ‘hood’ or even ‘bonnet’, which makes me imagine a willy wearing a little rubber Bo Peep bonnet, tied on with ribbons and all. So, French Letter, Capote Anglaise – why is everyone so desperate to lump the blame on the other nation? In my opinion it’s a marvelous invention – I thought they’d all be racing to snap up responsability for this clever little rubber sheath.'


Nations might be understandably reluctant to be eponymously 'honoured' in this way as the primary function of the condom was the prevention of syphilis (also known as 'the grand pox' a very nasty disease indeed). Such reticence is more about the cause than the cure. Attempts to 'name and shame' the country (otherwise understood to be a pack of dirty sluts) that allegedly 'infected' the rest of Christendom was the aim of the game. Hence the English, Germans and Italians called syphilis 'The French Disease' the French The Italian Disease'!
As much used routes no doubt the Camino's played their parts in the spread pf this disease and others. Just think about the colds, upset tummies and even bedbugs that other pilgrims pass on to us .......a pox on them all! :evil:

 

[sillydoll]

Nell - you've just caused a lightbulb moment!
Is THAT why we always get New Zealand flu or Asian flu or Hong Kong flu in South Africa, but never South African flu??

 

[nellpilgrim]

De Nada Sil,
Of course there's some logic to including the name of the area/or species where a disease is first recorded-but even with our level of scientific sophistication there can still be a pejorative racial/specist (if there's such a word) 'whiff' about such tags especially in the public domain.
Moving from the macro to the micro I can't remember the last time I read, or even more tellingly began writing, a post starting with "When I/we brought bedbugs into the Albergue....... or when I/we contaminated the communal toilet at Arzua with gastroenteritus Can you?
It's always 'the others' fault with us humans isn't it?
To paraphrase a somewhat higher source 'Let it without bacteria, virus, recessive genes or genetic disorders cast the first stone'!
Nell