You can watch for this in the New York Slimes, but don't hold your breath.
A reporter for the Daily Mail (UK) actually reports that
A damning Senate report has revealed that mismanagement of taxpayer's money has seen National Science Foundation (NSF) blow more than $3 billion – on such things as a Jell-O wrestling party in the Antarctic and a list of seemingly pointless studies.
Senator Tom Coburn, one of the leading watchdogs on Government waste, published a 73-page report identifying the extraordinary amount of money spent on frivolous enterprises – $3 billion represents almost half of the NSF's $6.9 billion annual budget.
One of the most embarrassing revelations for the NSF was a nude swimming party and wrestling event held at the McMurdo research station in Antarctica.
In one of ten employee misconduct cases, an unnamed male employee was fired after the NSF found out about the Jell-O wrestling event. The employee emailed the rest of the staff after being fired, referring to the NSF as 'fun Nazis'.
The email then referred to a 'polar bear plunge' – a skinny dipping event that had taken place on the same day – saying 'it had plenty of nudity but no one got fired or reprimanded for doing that.'
Among the more ridiculous research conducted throughout the year,
NSF scientists designed and constructed treadmills for shrimp to walk on, to measure the impact of sickness on the creatures.
It cost more than $500,000.
Dr Coburn said $80,000 was spent on a study of why the same teams always dominate March Madness, and a further $315,000 was spent on a study suggesting playing FarmVille on Facebook helps adults develop and maintain relationships.
A staggering $1 million was spent on analysis of how quickly parents respond to trendy baby names,
and a further $1.5 million was spent on the development of a robot that can fold laundry.
More than $2 million was spent on a study that revealed the painfully obvious: that people who post pictures on the internet from the same location at the same time are usually friends.
Dr Coburn questioned the value of spending $50,000 on amateur video clips about science, including a rap called Money 4 Drugz, and a song titled Biogas Is A Gas, Gas, Gas.
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Sheesh. Why am I not all that surprised?
Send it to your leftie friends. And this too: King Canute's kindergarten
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