Cocktail from mercury and crocodile dung: from the history of contraception

The problem of birth control has always accompanied the mankind throughout its history. An excursion through the ancient and recent contraceptive methods has been done by The Independent.

Particularly, in ancient China, a popular remedy involved drinking a cocktail of lead and mercury. In ancient Egypt, a paste made out of honey, sodium carbonate, and crocodile dung was a popular form of contraception.

However, not all historic forms of contraception were based on superstition. A prototype of the cervical cap has been in use since the 18th century.

For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries women in the U.S. had a hard time getting their hands on effective contraception. Due to anti-obscenity laws, doctors were not allowed to spread information about birth control.

To compensate for the lack of official methods, household products like Lysol and Coca-Cola were often used, as they were believed to kill sperm.

Later in 1960 In USA modern birth control was born, the first oral contraceptive pill for women was approved. Today, 99% of women of child-bearing age say they have used some form of birth control.