Even if you don’t normally associate Microsoft founder Bill Gates with intimate thoughts of sexy time (and if you currently do, who am I to judge?), that could soon change. The tech CEO-turned-philanthropist gave $100,000 to the University of Wollongong in Australia to develop a “next generation condom…made to act and feel more like real skin,” as project engineer Dr. Robert Gorkin describes it in this unveiling (“unrolling”?) video from earlier this week:
Instead of latex, the technology uses a “hydro-gel,” which looks suspiciously like Saran Wrap but would “preserve or enhance pleasure” during intercourse.
It’s all part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s initiative to fight the global spread of HIV by designing a condom that men are more willing to wear. As Gates said in a Reddit AMA back in February:
“This is a sensitive topic. The idea was that men don’t like the current design so perhaps something they would be more open to would allow for less HIV transmission. We still haven’t gotten the results.”
Even if this hydro-gel stuff doesn’t wind up replacing current-generation condoms, Gates still has 10 other prophylactic prototypes in development, all winners of a grant competition from last year. Bravo, sir! Now if only he’d find us a way to join the Mile-High Club in our flying cars.
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