Sheldon J. Segal is no longer with us. Segal, 83, died October 17 at his home in Woods Hole, MA. Although his work helped millions of women all over the world, he labored and died in relative anonymity.

What gives?

Segal is credited with leading the team that developed the contraceptive implant Norplant. He was also instrumental in the development of the Mirena intrauterine device and copper-bearing IUDs. In other words, Segal played a critical role in what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls one of the greatest public health achievements of the past 100 years---contraception.

You might have missed this news because the front page of several major newspapers featured other such absolutely essential fare as the fight for airplane overhead space (USA Today) and a new opus from Stephen King (Wall Street Journal).

What gives?

Rest in peace, Sheldon Segal, and thank you.

What if I told you there was a birth control out there that was 99% effective, didn't require daily maintenance, and wouldn't have the hormonal side effects that you're used to in the Pill?  Yeah.  I'd laugh in my face, too.  Because if such a magical thing existed, we'd be all beating a path to the doctor for a prescription, right?

Wrong.

Meet the IUD (intrauterine device), the simple to use, long-lasting, reversible, hormone-free, economical birth control that's only used by about 2% of American women, despite huge popularity with our European cousins. 

So why are American women missing the boat on this?

Ahhh, 2008... What a year! In this season of "best of" lists and year-end retrospectives, I thought it would be a good time to pause, take a deep breath, and take a look back at some of our favorite videos from the last 365 days.

Why, it seems like just yesterday that we learned Jamie Lynn Spears was pregnant, but her baby, Maddie Briann, was born in June. When it came to names, my money was on "Misti Cheyanne." Close, but no cigar.

In May, the entire field of sex education took a great hit when 78-year-old sex educator and sex toy enthusiast Sue Johanson retired from her Oxygen television show, Talk Sex with Sue Johanson. She continues to tour universities, which is lucky for our young adult crowd as evidenced by the student-shot video below:

Seriously, when was the last time you saw a 78-year-old woman demonstrate how to apply a comdom with her mouth?  You will be missed on Sunday nights, Sue.

In November, Barack Obama -- the son of a teen mother -- was elected the nation's 44th president. Here's what President-elect Obama had to say about his historical achievement:

Check out more videos after the jump.