clipped from: www.avert.org 
Condom use can be traced back several thousand years. It is known that around 1000 BC the ancient Egyptians used a linen sheath for protection against disease.1
The earliest evidence of condom use in Europe comes from scenes in cave paintings at Combarelles in France.2 There is also some evidence that some form of condom was used in imperial Rome.3
The syphilis epidemic that spread across Europe gave rise to the first published account of the condom. Gabrielle Fallopius described a sheath of linen he claimed to have invented to protect men against syphilis.4 Having been found useful for prevention of infection, it was only later that the usefulness of the condom for the prevention of pregnancy was recognised.
Later in the 1500s, one of the first improvements to the condom was made, when the linen cloth sheaths were sometimes soaked in a chemical solution and then allowed to dry prior to use. These were the first spermicides on condoms.5
The first published use of the world 'condum' was in a 1706 poem.6 It has also been suggested that Condom was a doctor in the time of Charles II. It is believed that he invented the device to help the king to prevent the birth of more illegitimate children.7
Even the most famous lover of all, Casanova, was using the condom as a birth control as well as against infection.8
Condoms made out of animal intestines began to be available. However, they were quite expensive and the unfortunate result was that they were often reused. This type of condom was described at the time as "an armour against pleasure, and a cobweb against infection".
In more recent years, improved technology has enabled the thickness of the condom to decrease. Also, condom manufacturers have recognised that one size of condom does not fit all. You can now find condoms that are different shapes, widths and lengths.