WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, today delivered his weekly “Waste of the Week” speech and highlighted $331,000 spent by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study whether or not “hanger” is real. “Hanger” occurs when a person is particularly angry because they are hungry.
The NSF paid researchers to conduct a study of married couples where each spouse was given a voodoo doll representing their significant other. Each person could stick pins into the voodoo dolls whenever that person’s spouse made them angry. Researchers measured whether the spouses stuck more needles into the voodoo dolls when they were hungry to determine if they were, in fact, hangry.
“Researchers actually spent three years and over $300,000 on this,” said Coats. “Talk about a waste. Think of all the Snickers bars you could have bought with $300,000. After three years, I’m sure these guys were waiting on pins and needles for the results.”
Coats said that the taxpayer-funded research project ultimately determined that hanger is real.
“Now here’s some food for thought: are we better off as a country for knowing this information?” said Coats. “As funny as this all sounds, this really is not a laughing matter – it should make every taxpayer and every elected official furious. This voodoo doll study of hanger cost the equivalent of nearly seven years of income for the average Hoosier family.”
To watch this week’s installment of Waste of the Week, click here.
