Nowadays women also can use condoms. Like male condoms, they increase protection for partners from pregnancy and STD's. Female condoms look like a sheath with a flexible ring on both sides of this sheath. With these rings the condom is attached to the vagina. It covers the vagina and cervix to prevent sperm from getting inside the woman's uterus. It is necessary to know that female and male condoms should not be used at the same time. In this case, both condoms may rub against each other, and this will result in failure.
The oldest condoms ever found were from the 1640s. They were made from animal and fish intestines.
There are two ways to see how effective condoms are. They are method effectiveness, where how many couples that use the condom every time they have sex do not get pregnant; and actual effectiveness, where the number of people that use condoms either correctly or incorrectly and do not get pregnant are looked at. Most studies show results of effectiveness over a year.
The method failure rate of condoms is 2% per year. The actual failure rate is different in different places, and the rates can be anywhere between 10 and 18% per year.
According to a 2001 study by the National Institutes of Health, correct and consistent condom use:
Other sexually-transmitted infections may be affected as well, but they could not draw definite conclusions from the research they were working with. In particular, these include STIs associated with ulcerative lesions that may be present on body surfaces where the condom does not cover, such as human papillomavirus (HPV), genital herpes simplex (HSV), chancroid, and syphilis. If contact is made with uncovered lesions, transmission of these STIs may still occur despite appropriate condom use. Additionally, the absence of visible lesions or symptoms cannot be used to decide whether caution is needed.
An article in "The American Journal of Gynecologic Health" showed that "all women who correctly and consistently used Reality® were protected from trichomonas vaginalis" (referring to a particular brand of female condom).
The most common reason for a condom failing is that the user has not put it on properly. A condom can also fail because it has been damaged, because the latex has weakened, or because it has come off the penis during sexual intercourse. Something else that can cause a condom to not work, as it should, is sabotage. This can be when one of the partners wants a baby, but the other one does not. Usually they pierce a condom with a sharp object, making the condom useless. Some people see it as not ethical, because one of the two sex partners does it without the other one's knowledge. There are websites that show how to do it, if the woman wants a baby, but the man does not.
One method of testing condoms for microscopic holes involves placing the condom being tested over one conducting form with another on the other side of the condom. If the condom does not prevent an electric current from flowing between the two conducting forms, it fails the test. Holes in condoms are unlikely if proper handling conditions (see below) are followed.
Several religious communities (like Catholic Christians, Muslims, and some Protestant Christians) see problems if condoms are used:
Osaka
Osaka is in the Kansai region. It is the economic and cultural center of the Kansai region.
Since 1980 it had been the second largest city in Japan.
It is a city designated by government ordinance in Japan.
Osaka is surrounded by Hyōgo Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture.
Sometimes it is called by its historical name "Naniwa".
Because it is by the sea, it is good for transportation. That is why an ancient emperor made Osaka the capital city. In the early part of the 8th century Naniwa was one of capitals of Japan. In the middle of the 16th century Toyotomi Hideyoshi founded Osaka castle and governed Japan in Osaka. The basis of development of Osaka was prepared in those times. Osaka castle was destroyed once by Tokugawa Ieyasu but Ieyasu choose Osaka as one of the political centers in the Western Japan. He made Osaka a direct dominion of the shogun. During the Edo period Osaka was a center of commerce, finance, pharmacy and other products. It was a center for literature and theater. Kabuki in Osaka is as famous as Kabuki in Edo and Kyoto. It is also known for bunraku (a traditional puppet theater) and manzai (a kind of stand-up comedy).
Traditional Osaka food dishes include "okonomiyaki" (pan-fried batter cake) and "takoyaki" (octopus dumplings).
In this region, many people speak a dialect called Osaka-Ben (e.g. "ookini"="thank you").
After the Meiji restoration Osaka was modernized and industrialized. It was a center of Japanese industry. After the World War II its economical importance was relatively less because Tokyo grew as an international city and many companies moved their headquarters to Tokyo. But Osaka is still a large, important city.
Piano
A piano (also called a pianoforte) is a musical instrument classified as a percussion instrument that is played by pressing keys on a keyboard. A person who plays the piano is called a pianist.
The piano has been an extremely popular instrument in Western classical music since the late 18th century. The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori of Padua, Italy. He made his first piano in 1709. It developed from the clavichord which looks like a piano but the strings of a clavichord are hit by a small blade of metal called a “tangent”. In the piano the strings are hit by a block of wood called a hammer. The early keyboarded instruments, such as the clavichords, harpsichords and organs that were used at that time, had a much shorter keyboard than they do today. Gradually the keyboard became longer until it had the 88 notes (7 octaves plus three notes) of the modern piano.
At first the instrument was called the “fortepiano”. This means “loud-soft” in Italian. It was given this name because it could be played either loudly or softly, depending on how hard the note was hit (the harpsichord could not do this, and the clavichord could only make a tiny difference between louder and softer). Later this name changed to “pianoforte”. This is normally shortened to “piano”. The word “fortepiano” is sometimes used to describe the pianos of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In some languages, such as Russian, “fortepiano” is the normal word for a piano.
Although the piano was invented at the beginning of the 18th century, it was not until 50 years later that it started to become popular. The first time the piano was played in a public concert in London was in 1768 when it was played by Johann Christian Bach. The upright piano was invented in 1800 by John Isaac Hawkings. Seven years later T. Southwell invented “over-stringing”. This means that the strings for the low notes go diagonally across the soundboard so that they can be longer and make a much bigger sound.
The early pianos had strings that were fastened to a frame made of wood. They were not very heavy, but they were not very strong or loud, so they could not be heard very well in a big concert hall. In 1825 the cast-iron frame was invented in America. This made the piano much stronger so that it could make a bigger sound and the strings were not likely to break.