Duck penises are a higher funding priority than WH tours?

[DinoDoc]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $384,949 grant to Yale University for a study on “Sexual Conflict, Social Behavior and the Evolution of Waterfowl Genitalia”, according to the recovery.gov website.

The grant description says,“The project examines how reproductive morphology covaries with season, age, and social environment in a diverse sample of duck species that differ in ecology, territoriality and breeding system.”

The grant was made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package…

Many duck penises are cork-screw shaped and some scientists believe this is because of a form of evolution known as “sexual conflict”.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/384949-federal-study-looks-plasticity-duck-penis-length

With all the talk about how sequester is the end of the world and important things have to be cut, would anyone care to explain this study and why it rates higher than allowing the public to tour the WH for instance?

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

They're running along completely different budgets. Such a choice would never have been made, unless you're suddenly telling me that the NSF and the White House tour staff are taking from the same budget pool.

 

[Borachio]

Wut? How do White House tours aid the sum total of human knowledge? "It's a house. It's white. OK? End of tour."

Not that I see how a duck's penis - corkscrew or not - does either.

 

[Crezth]

They're running along completely different budgets. Such a choice would never have been made, unless you're suddenly telling me that the NSF and the White House tour staff are taking from the same budget pool.

qft, /thread

 

[DinoDoc]

qft, /thread

If were to see meat inspectors laid off, air traffic controllers furloughed, and the apocalypse in general unleashed due miniscule cuts to the budget why are we paying people to look at duck penises?

 

[Borachio]

Bird penises in general are extremely hard to find. Weight, for a bird, being of prime importance. So a duck penis is (I've never seen one myself - not that I've ever looked for one) likely to be very thin and transparent.

 

[DinoDoc]

Is it worth paying $300k+ to find them? Bonus question: How does finding them stimulate the economy given that these are stimulus funds?

 

[Borachio]

I dunno. I guess the money goes on employing somebody to look. It's not the daftest job I've ever heard of. Nor, should I get the job, would it be the daftest work I've ever been paid to do. But, I guarantee that all my wages will be spent on buying stuff to keep other people employed.

 

[anandus]

Is it worth paying $300k+ to find them? Bonus question: How does finding them stimulate the economy given that these are stimulus funds?

Why not?
It stimulates D) the education system, and I can see it having benefits for the fowl-sector as well in the longer run.

But to be honest, I'm not qualified (and I wonder if the topic starter is?) to make even the faintest guess if it's too much or too little, if it's a proper field of study or net, but I don't doubt the people that do need to approve the budget know what's good and what's not. At least better than me.

 

[Patroklos]

They're running along completely different budgets. Such a choice would never have been made, unless you're suddenly telling me that the NSF and the White House tour staff are taking from the same budget pool.

Interesting. So in your opinion is the science funding in this country so flush that this is a worthwhile project over every other one that is being cut or curtailed?

Since this is stimulus money, is there no other recovery project more critical than the duck penis?

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Interesting. So in your opinion is the science funding in this country so flush that this is a worthwhile project over every other one that is being cut or curtailed?

Since this is stimulus money, is there no other recovery project more critical than the duck penis?

What are you talking about? I was explaining that there's no connection between this and the tour group.

 

[Gary Childress]

If were to see meat inspectors laid off, air traffic controllers furloughed, and the apocalypse in general unleashed due miniscule cuts to the budget why are we paying people to look at duck penises?

Like any research it doesn't sound very sexy (no pun intended), but it may help futher our understanding of nature. Who would have thought studying pea plants would eventually lead to a revolution in the scientific theory of origins?

 

[DinoDoc]

What are you talking about? I was explaining that there's no connection between this and the tour group.

Actually it does have a connection given that this money came from the stumulus bill. What's more likely to create jobs? Funding continued access to a popular tourist atraction or a study of duck penises?

 

[dutchfire]

This whole research proposal is one big cock-up

 

[squadbroken]

Interesting. So in your opinion is the science funding in this country so flush that this is a worthwhile project over every other one that is being cut or curtailed?

Since this is stimulus money, is there no other recovery project more critical than the duck penis?

Maybe they'll figure out a way to weaponize duck dicks, then it would be more worthy

 

[Leonel]

It's been my experience that usually when a study is paid a lot of money to look into a ludicrous thing, it's usually wildly exaggerated like the old people paid millions of dollars to play World of Warcraft thing that was going about a few months ago.

 

[DinoDoc]

This whole research proposal is one big cock-up

I like the cut of your jib.

 

[DinoDoc]

It's been my experience that usually when a study is paid a lot of money to look into a ludicrous thing, it's usually wildly exaggerated like the old people paid millions of dollars to play World of Warcraft thing that was going about a few months ago.

If I'd have wanted to do that the OP would have featured the study investigating why there are so many fat lesbians.

 

[JollyRoger]

Of all the things for a right wing media outlet to be obsessed over, duck penises seems as likely as anything. Interesting what they cry fowl over.

 

[Azale]

It's been my experience that usually when a study is paid a lot of money to look into a ludicrous thing, it's usually wildly exaggerated like the old people paid millions of dollars to play World of Warcraft thing that was going about a few months ago.

No no but big liberal conspiracy government bad obamascare care bears do they poop in the woods?

Rubio-Portman '16