Mardi Gras/Carnival is getting close, and the Brazilian government wants to make sure they don't end up with the typical swarm of unwanted pregnancies afterward. (I guess what happens in Rio tends to stay in Rio.) They are handing out 20 million condoms and an unspecified number of RU-486 pills this week. This has gotten them in a bit of trouble with the Catholic church.

But what you may not have heard is that last year, they purchased 1 Billion (with a B) condoms. What's to become of the other 980 million rubbers?

Something else you may or may not know is that condoms have a shelf life. They start to deteriorate after a couple of years - even with the best of modern packaging. You might only know this if you kept one in your wallet for 'emergencies' and found that it fell apart when put to use, or kept a stash in a drawer next to the bed and found they all crumbled when you reached for them.

So not only does the Brazilian government have a whole lot of protection to hand out, it also has a limited time in which to do it. This should be interesting.