by Jason Stotts
Birth control throughout the ages has been a little…shall we say, dicey? Sometimes the methods worked and sometimes they didn’t. And sometimes they are just disgusting. The Awl has a great piece up right now called Hideous Birth Control Methods Through the Ages that is both fascinating and disturbing.
Worst: • Inserting tar or elephant dung into the vagina after coitus (11th-century Persia)
Best: • Some women in rural North Carolina still use a traditional oral contraceptive made from Queen Anne’s Lace seeds, which are chopped and put in a glass of water, which is then drunk. Cutting the seeds releases terpenoids, which block progesterone
Runner-Up for Best: • Half a lemon skin used as a cervical cap (recommended by Casanova) [Acidity kills sperm]