Box of 10 Kotams tampons, Super

Box of 10 Kotams tampons (9 tampons and insert remaining), Super, "Now, a modern tampon for all Women! The first easy-to-use tampon", Kimberly-Clark, USA, 1963

Introduced in 1960, Kotams tampons had one key difference – a wooden lollipop-like stick applicator that the manufacturers, Kimberly-Clark, claimed made them easier to insert than the sliding cardboard tube applicators favoured by market-leader Tampax.

Adverts from this era proclaimed it “The first really new tampon in 20 years!” and “Easier and daintier than ordinary tampons”. A soft fabric covering to keep the tampon intact and knotted double string for straightforward removal were also introduced.

Users failed to buy into the idea, however, reporting that the stick tended to bend, break, or become dislodged without the protection of a tube when the wrapped tampon was carried in a purse, and Kotams were withdrawn after just five years. Undeterred, Kimberly-Clark relaunched the stick tampon under the Kotex brand which remained on sale until the 1990s.