It's the invention we've all been waiting for, and now it's finally here. The one size fits all, spray on condom.

It works like this: the man puts his penis into a can, the can sprays his penis with latex, and wah lah! You've got yourself a rubber that fits like a tailor-made, one-of-a-kind glove!

Jan Vinzenz Krause from the Institute for Condom Consultancy says the product aims to be "the perfect condom," ready to go in 5 seconds flat. It should also serve as a more effective contraceptive, as it will fit better, and won't slip.

The product isn't in stores yet -- scientists are making sure the latex is distributed evenly, and working to optimize the curing process -- but you can expect to see multiple strengths and colors by 2008.

In the meantime, I'd like to suggest some names for this new product. I'll leave that open to the comments. Feel free to be creative.

(Thanks to That's Fit reader Tim for the tip!)

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Filed under: College, Eating

I had a friend in high school whose father was in charge of a dorm cafeteria at a large public university. He was always trying to come up with new ways to get the students excited about the food, but he almost always fell back on the same two options: chicken strip night and pizzas. Oh, and for the sorority girls, a salad bar with plenty of fat-free dressing.

But some universities around the country are doing something that sounds really interesting: they are taking recipe submissions from students for their favorites meals as prepared by mom and dad at home. Not only are colleges finding that this adds a bit of variety to the traditional cafeteria fare, but it even helps relieve homesickness among some students.

The University of Georgia pioneered the approach 20 years ago with its annual "Taste of Home" competition. Hundreds of parents submit their entries and the university selects winners that will be incorporated into cafeteria menus.

I think it's a pretty goos idea, but I'm glad my mom never submitted her meatloaf recipe to my college cafeteria. Something tells me they would have been all too eager to incorporate her American cheese food slice and squiggle of crusty ketchup on top.

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Filed under: High school, Public school, Private school

As there isn't a boy's gymnastics team at Stevens Point Area High School, Keith Michael Bukowski figured he'd join the girl's team. But according to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, boy's aren't allowed to compete in girl's sports.

Bukowski subsequently sued the WIAA, arguing that the organization's rule violated both the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, and Title IX -- a law created to prohibit gender discrimination in athletics. Girls commonly use Title IX to in petitioning their high schools to allow them access to boy's football and wrestling teams -- sports for which there is often no female equivalent. Bukowski claimed his case was the same, simply in reverse.

But in a 3-0 decision, the courts ruled in favor of the WIAA. In previous cases, courts have concluded that if boys compete on girls teams, it jeopardizes opportunities for girls. This decision, however, appears to hinge on the fact that Bukowski didn't prove that the WIAA was an arm of the state -- and thus, can not be sued on Constitutional grounds -- nor did he prove that the organization received federal funding -- and thus, Title IX, as it's a federal law, is not technically applicable.

Sounds like the court skipped deciding on the issue at hand and dismissed the case on technical, legal grounds, so I pose the question to you: is this fair? Should he have been allowed to compete?

(Random interesting side note: Bukowski, a junior when filed the suit, has now graduated, and has been hired by the school as an assistant gymnastics coach.)

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Filed under: Child Development, Health and Safety, Lifestyle

Cervical cancer is almost always caused by exposure to HPV, a virus that is most often sexually transmitted. Cervical cancer also kills thousands of women every year around the world, and affects many more thousands of women who must undergo invasive surgery to remove it. The good news is that there is a vaccine that can immunize women from HPV, and thus drastically reduce the number of cases of cervical cancer every year. The religious nutjobs in the United States have been doing their best to prevent those vaccinations from helping the girls who need it most in this country, even trying to prevent its approval by the FDA, because, well, you know, sex is evil unless part of a traditional marriage, etc. Well, the Australians have just enacted a program that will provide up to 2 million girls and young women with free vaccinations against cervical cancer starting next April.

All girls aged 12 and 13 in their first year of high school will be offered the vaccine, which comes in three injections over seven months. The vaccine is most effective when given to girls at that age. "Catch-up" vaccinations will also be given to girls up to age 18 in schools and will be free to women up to age 26 through their doctors.

This is a positive step for Australia but programs like it should not be suppressed elsewhere because of a minority's religious fanaticism. So far, New Hampshire is the only state in the U.S. with a program to offer the vaccine for free.

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Filed under: Lifestyle, Teachers, High school, Public school

A Catholic high school in southwestern Ontario has declared a new policy for future school dances: no one gets in the door unless they pass a breathalyzer test. Man, if my high school had that policy, no one would have been at the prom except for me, my Mormon date, and half of the marching band.

The decision by administrators at Sacred Heart High School in Walkerton is a reaction to events at the last major school dance, which ended in a drunken melee and resulted in 11 suspensions for fighting and underage drinking.

The school's trustee Tracey Ellis says any students who show up with alcohol in their system will be kicked out of the dance immediately. Cripes, is John Lithgow somehow involved with this disaster? Something tells me the students at Sacred Heart need a hero, some student with the ninja skills necessary skills to sneak past security with a couple bottles of vodka to poor into the punch. Someone, say, who resembles a young Kevin Bacon. Maybe his prom date could be, "pregnant," but really have a "belly" full of Labatt's Blue. Either way, good luck students of Sacred Heart, it won't be easy but I know you will find a way.

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Filed under: Health and Safety

Apparently Robert Holloway, the former principal of a Catholic high school in Lorain, Ohio went into the wrong profession. He should have been a podiatrist. Holloway resigned as the principal at St. Anthony of Padua School in Lorain after he admitted kissing the feet of three 14-year-old male students at his school. The students whose feet were kissed reported the incident to their parents and to the police. When confronted, Holloway claimed that all the foot smooching (which took place in the school's library and gymnasium) was something he had to do after losing a bet over the student-teacher volleyball game. But police sat he paid each student $15 and kissed their feet at least 50 times. Police also say they found quite a bit of foot fetish pornography on two school computers seized from Holloway's office. The principal has stated that he does not have a fetish. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual improprieties with minors.

Something tells me that Holloway's next job is going to be at foot locker.

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Filed under: Pregnant celebrities, Rumors, Celebrity parents

"I might be pregnant again...Did that just come out?"

Yes, Anna. It did.

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles judge ordered that Smith submit her daughter for a paternity test. Larry Birkhead, her ex-boyfriend is still insisting that he's the father -- not Howard K. Stern, Smith's current beau . This means that Smith either a) was having sex with both at the same time, or b) is knowingly denying Mr. Birkhead his paternal rights because she's shacking up with someone new. Classy Anna, real classy.

But wait, Smith apparently told a Mr. G Ben Thompson, her landlord, that he was the father of her baby. After informing Smith that he'd long ago had a vasectomy, Thompson evicted Smith from the home he currently rents to her. She's got 48 hours to pack.

Oh, Anna. I'm totally mortified you're having another child. Congratulations.

(Thanks to Salon for the links!)

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Filed under: Sleep

My daughter has never been one of those kids that goes to sleep easily. Even as an infant, she fought sleep until the very end, eventually passing out from pure exhaustion. Things got better as she has gotten older; now at two, she's usually able to go to bed with little fanfare. (Finally!)

I would say that 99.99 percent of the time, she goes to bed and stays in there. Just recently, we put her in bed for what we thought was the night. About an hour and a half later, I hear the telltale sign of a 2-year-old playing in her bedroom. I ignored her, figuring she would soon fall back to sleep. But, she didn't.

Finally, around 10:45pm, I go into her room to see what was going on. I found a very awake little girl sitting in bed. She had no intentions of falling asleep. The problem is that I, like many parents, consider bedtime to be "my time." A waking toddler is infringing onto the few moments I have to myself.

Eventually, she ended up in our room. I think, by the end of the night, it was somewhere between midnight and one before she fell asleep.

I've never experienced this before and wasn't sure of the protocol. What do you do when your toddler is obviously not sleepy when it is bedtime?

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Filed under: Health and Safety, Infertility

For infertile men and their partners, a new technique discovered by German doctors could be an enormous breakthrough.

The procedure treats Varicoceles, a relatively common affliction caused by circulation problems, that some doctors feel is a leading cause of infertility. While often harmless, this can cause the scrotum temperature to rise, thus reducing sperm count. With a minimally invasive procedure, doctors can now correct this condition.

However, there's conflicting views within the medical community as to whether or not Varicoceles actually causes infertility in the first place. Other doctors believe that varicose veins in the testicle, and not Varicoceles, is the primary cause of male infertility. If they're right, the new procedure to fix the condition looks pretty worthless.

At the moment, it looks like the data doesn't fully support either theory.

Have your plans for starting a family been affected by infertility? How did you work through it?

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Filed under: Child Custody

Splitting up is often a nasty business when kids are involved. However, at least when the kids are older, they have their own opinions about which parent they'd like to live with -- thus taking the custody battle out of the hands of warring parents. Right?

Not in the case of Misbah Rana, a 12 year-old Scottish girl, who, after her parents divorce, flew to Pakistan to be with her father. Even though she has stated publicly that she wants to live with her father, and the two have filed papers with the court defending her actions, Ms. Rana will still be sent back to Scotland to live with her mother until the custody process has been finalized.

Louise Campbell, Ms. Rana's mother, had been given interim custody by Scottish courts in June. Ms. Campbell has said that once back in Scotland, her daughter will have the chance to voice her opinion on where she would like to permanently reside.

While I can understand why the will of a minor shouldn't be allowed to completely dictate a court's custody decisions, I don't get why this young woman should be forced to stay with her mother until custody decisions are finalized. Ms. Campbell's lawyer has stated that Mr. Rana's actions violated the June court order (granting interim custody to Ms. Campbell), so, legally, Ms. Rana should be returned. But ethically? Morally? Why does this mother think her will trumps her daughter's? Should the young woman's opinion be brushed aside as her parents duke it out? Why did the court grant the mother interim custody in the first place? Habit?

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