A childhood belief about condoms

I've been interested in science from a very young age. When I was about 10, I had read about animals finding mates via pheromones. I assumed that pheromones played an important part in human mating, too. I thought that men and women enjoyed sex because of pheromones passing between their sex organs!

Then I learned that a condom prevents fluid exchange, but I didn't know what a condom looked like. So I assumed that it was an elaborate contraption to convey pheromones between partners during sex! I imagined a plastic device with tubes connecting the two people. I remember asking an older friend about condoms, admitting that "I don't know how all the tubes work." He got a funny expression and changed the subject. Later on, when I finally learned the truth, I was so embarassed of my wild imaginings!