File under: things that sound awesome to put in your vagina, I guess? Researchers in Australia are interested in using a substance found in regional spinifex grass to make condoms, thanks to its durability and resilience in the punishing Australian desert scrub. In fact, the Pink News report on the story features such delightfully suggestive spinifex grass facts as:
"The bitter grass has long been used by Aboriginal hunters to shape their deadly spears."
and
"It’s a super-tough plant that has evolved to survive under incredibly hot conditions."
Sounds like the perfect sex accessory, no?
While the grass itself is described as tough and spiky, what would actually go into making the condom is the plant's material on a cellular level. Scientists from the University of Queensland want to extract the grass's nanocellulose, which is characterized as being "soft and flexible and tough." When applied to latex, it can make condoms 30 percent thinner.
Researchers even speculate they could make condoms as thin as a human hair, which they believe could lead to a more "satisfying prophylactic," encouraging their use. (But actually, research has shown that condoms are not the cause of lost erections as much as erectile dysfunction and lack of knowledge about how to properly apply them. Thanks for playing, though.)
In lab tests, spinifex grass helped make condoms 20 percent stronger against "burst pressure" and 40 percent stronger against "burst volume." Now, making a stronger condom that better protects against breakages, which compromise their effectiveness as a barrier against pregnancy and STDs, is something to get behind.
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