Cool Hunting

While most technologies advanced by leaps and bounds in recent decades, condom design has been relatively static for the last century or so. One visionary German scientist is working to change that. Jan Vinzenz Krause has spent recent years trying to make the world's most common prophylactic available in spray-on form. The technology's draw, according to Krause (pictured), is that conventional condoms often don't fit penises of varying sizes (also pictured, sort of).

Unlike its depiction in popular media, it's not a generic spray can that men haphazardly shoot towards their crotch. In reality, it works like a miniature car wash, employing a penis chamber lined with jets that distribute liquid latex. The entire process takes 10 seconds, with another 20 to 25 required for drying. But couples who don't want to miss a second of "Two and a Half Men" will be happy to hear that the inventor is hard at work decreasing that time to 10 seconds.

Although Krause planned to release his product this year, he hit roadblocks earlier this month with the patent. Since condoms are considered medical products, the approval methods are far more rigorous. So it's possible that Krause's prototype will never see mass production, and the world will be denied what he expected to be "a revolution in the condom market."