Durex is a condom brand of SSL International plc. The product line includes condoms of different kinds with varying sizes, colours and shapes.

History: London Rubber Company (LRC) was founded in 1915 by L.A. Jackson. The company was a small vendor of barbers' sundries, including 'protectives' imported from Germany. The first condom factory was established in 1922 in Italy and the DUREX trademark first registered in 1929 (formed from words DUrability, Reliability, EXcellence). LRC was registered as a public company in 1950 and started the first fully automatic production line in 1951. In 1953 electronic testing machines were deveoped and introduced by LRC engineers, simplifying the process of testing the protectives. The year 1957 saw the introduction of the first lubricated Durex condom, followed by the first anatomically shaped condom in 1969. In 1986 the company name was changed to London International Group plc. and the next year the company became famous by showing the first advertisement of condoms on British television. The company has since globalized the Durex brand (sold in more than 140 countries), opened family planning clinics and merged with footwear specialist Seton Scholl Healthcare plc to form a multinational healthcare concern, SSL International plc.

Facts: About 3000 men were reviewed by Durex to get information about the average penis size and the fit of the condoms they use so the company could improve their products. The average values in this survey were 163 mm (6.4 inches) for erect length and 133 mm (5.2 inches) for erect circumference. Durex Comfort is the longest model in the product line with the length of 205 mm (8.1 inches) while most Durex condoms are 178 mm (7.0 inches) long.

 
See Durex Condoms for product information.
Information gathered from www.durex.com and www.ssl-international.com.

In Australia, the canonical brand of adhesive tape, which has been known to confuse Poms. In Italy, a surface-hardened aluminium alloy used for racing bicycle rims, with big labels which are good for a quick, if not cheap, laugh in the UK.

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