Some of you may know that Nikola Tesla invented a whole bunch of things, and rarely got the credit due in his own lifetime. While he may not be widely credited with the invention or discovery of such things as radar, x-rays or the torpedo, one thing he definitely is credited with is an electro-mechanical oscillator which could apparently cause an earthquake. He also told numerous people he had created a death ray which could destroy land and life. I think the consensus is that Nikola Tesla was an amazing yet disturbed and possibly schizophrenic man.
If he created amazing things at the end of the 1800s when people still used steam power, imagine what he could do with graphene. A material only one atom thick and stronger than any other material on the planet, graphene holds amazing possibilities. It seems fitting then, that one of the first products to use graphene in a practical way will be a new kind of condom.
The soon to be built National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester, UK received $100,000 of funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in order to create thinner, stronger condoms which will “enhance sensuality”. Dr Papa Salif Sow is the senior program officer on the HIV team of the Foundation and he said this is important because a “redesigned condom that overcomes inconvenience, fumbling or perceived loss of pleasure would be a powerful weapon in the fight against poverty.”
If Nikola Tesla lived today, I’m sure he could think of a thousand different uses for graphene which would improve our lives in untold ways. He certainly wouldn’t think about using it for a condom because he was celibate…
