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Somehow I doubt this is what Coca-Cola meant by 'the pause that refreshes.' Here's a short newspaper summary from 1985 about the first study undertaken to verify claims about Coke's contraceptive properties: However, other researchers were unable to verify these results in later experiments. Subsequent trials performed by medical researchers in Taiwan (using several varities of both Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola) led them to the opposite conclusion, that cola has little if any spermicidal effect: Whichever set of results one wants to believe, those tempted to grab a six-pack and head down to the beach should keep in mind that spermicides themselves aren't all that effective at preventing pregnancy. Saying Diet Coke kills sperm is like saying a rubber glove makes a decent balloon — you shouldn't interpret either as meaning that using them creatively will keep you safe from parenthesis. (That's when you wind up pregnant and end up writing a book about it.) Coca-Cola may not be promoting its product as a spermicidal douche, but the idea ain't new. Coke (and Dr Pepper in the southern States) douches have been part of contraceptive lore at least since the 1950s, with the common belief being that the carbonic acid in Coke killed the sperm and the sugar exploded the sperm cells, while the carbonation of the drink forced the jet of liquid into the vagina. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, this method of parenthood prevention proved somewhat popular because not only was it cheap and universally available at a time when reliable birth control methods were hard to come by, but it also came in its own handy shake and shoot disposable applicator. After intercourse, the girl would uncap a warm Coke, put her thumb over the mouth of the bottle, shake up the beverage, then insert the neck of the bottle in her vagina and move her thumb out of the way. The warm well-shaken Coke became an effervescent spermicidal douche, with the traditional (at that time) six-ounce bottle providing what was deemed to be just the right amount for one application. As stated above, this method wasn't all that effective at preventing pregnancy. Though Coca-Cola might have been a (slight) step up from plain water, douching with any liquid is far too often a case of attempting to close the barn door after the horse has got loose. By the time the douche is fired off, 100,000 or thereabouts sperm are swimming around in the uterus, already out of reach of any douche, even a fizzy one. Women should be reluctant to turn to soda pop douches for another reason besides their ineffectiveness at preventing Momhood — the sugars in them being let loose in that part of a woman's anatomy can lead to yeast infections, an annoying, difficult-to-cure condition. Oddly, a 1992 study conducted by Nigerian researchers found that, although Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola were ineffective as spermicides, Krest bitter lemon drink fared quite well in this regard, and they recommended additional study to determine whether it might have great potential as such a contraceptive: The bottom line? The best contraceptive use for a Coke is to use it wash down your daily birth control pills.
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