charity .. melinda and bill gates
In a press conference today created by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, The computer whizz – the world’s second richest man – called on geeks and the general public to use technology to improve rubber contraceptives, the press conference in the US was attended by the computer whizz, staff of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a press team and a peculiar magazine correspondent.
His charity is offering a $100,000 (£66,000) start-up grant to anyone who can create a condom better than the latex sheaths used by punters today after investigations peculiar magazine found out there was a further funding of a million dollars – £660,000 – could follow to develop the best idea.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s call for a Condom 2.0 is part of its Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, a grant programme aimed at funding projects that improve the lives of the world’s poor.
Though condoms are cheap and reliable, too many men think they spoil the fun – leading to unwanted pregnancies and the devastating spread of disease, Bill Gate says.
Stephen Ward, a programme officer for the foundation, said: “We acknowledge that we have condoms today that are very effective. But they have a drawback, where they have diminished sexual pleasure for the user.
“It may seem like a small thing, but it prevents people from using them consistently. The more we can get people to be more consistent, the better.”
In a statement the foundation said: “Condoms have been in use for about 400 years yet they have undergone very little technological improvement in the past 50 years.
“Material science and our understanding of neurobiology has undergone revolutionary transformation in the last decade, yet that knowledge has not been applied to improve the product attributes of one of the most ubiquitous and potentially underutilised products on earth.”
Peculiar Magazine found out the foundation was looking for a design that “significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use.”
Anyone can submit a proposal, and the foundation encouraged inventors to think about new materials, designs or shapes that could make sex more pleasurable for men and women.
A panel of five reviewers will be judging the proposals, and several ideas could be awarded the six-figure sum.
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