CARNAL NATION

It's back! The contraceptive sponge is back on the market. After years of manufacturing problems, bad business decisions, and a bankruptcy, formerly the most popular over-the-counter birth control for women will go on sale again this weekend at over 6,500 CVS and Longs Drug Stores. By summer, the contraceptive sponge will also be available at over 6,700 Walgreens stores. Originally introduced in 1983, the sponge, a spermicide-coated polyurethane barrier placed in the vagina to inhibit sperm, was discontinued in 1994 after inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found bacterial contamination at the manufacturing plant. In 1995, the contraceptive sponge entered the pop-culture lexicon when Elaine, a character on the sitcom Seinfeld, lamented its disappearance from the market and was searching for someone 'spongeworthy,' that is, a man who merited her raiding her stash of the contraceptive device. The sponge was briefly resurrected in 2005 by a new company, but by 2007, that enterprise declared bankruptcy.

So the sponge emerges again, but this time, expectations are greatly lowered for both its revenue potential and its market, ahem, penetration. The sponge can have a failure rate of 10% with regard to pregnancy and offers no protection against sexually transmitted infections. Still, many women like the over-the-counter availability as well as the fact that it does not involve hormones. “I think the previous owners thought, ‘It’s such an iconic brand thanks to Seinfeld, it’s going to be swept off the shelves,’ ” said David Mayer, president of Mayer Laboratories in Berkeley, Calif., the distributor, whose company also makes the Kimono brand of condoms. “I think the sponge has a place, but it’s not going to become the be-all to all women.” Mayer Laboratories will sell boxes of three sponges each at a retail price of $14.99. It's up to you, ladies, to determine whether he's spongeworthy or not. Just don't forget the other things you need to consider.