The government came up with ridiculous ways to waste your money in 2016

The federal government spent huge taxpayer dollars to study the popularity of Barbie dolls and how long a fish could exercise on a treadmill, according to a new report by a U.S. senator.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) trotted out his “Wastebook: PORKemon Go” report, comparing government waste to the popular game — saying examples of overspending can be found anywhere and everywhere.

“The end of the year brings big promises for a new year and an even bigger pile of bills racked up during the season that has just passed,” the report states. “This is particularly true in our nation’s capital.”

Flake’s 201-page report mocks 50 items he claims cost taxpayers billions of dollars, including:

• The National Eye Institute and National Science Foundation spent $300,000 to conclude that girls play with Barbie dolls more than boys — and could better pick out the faces of Barbie from a lineup of assorted dolls, according to “Wastebook.” “Our nation’s most prestigious science agencies are literally playing with dolls, to study what is obvious to children who haven’t even graduated from preschool yet — whether boys or girls spend more time playing with Barbie dolls,” the report said.
• The National Science Foundation and UC San Diego spent $1.5 million to put a mudskipper fish on a treadmill, testing its flopping speed and need for oxygen, according to Flake. “We had monkeys on a treadmill last year. We’ve had shrimp on a treadmill before,” Flake told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.” “Obviously some people want to know what happens when these fish get on a treadmill but ‘don’t we have better things to spend money on’ is, I think, the question most Americans have.”
• The National Science Foundation and Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research spent $460,000 so that computers could binge watch 600 hours of TV shows and 400 hours of online videos — all to see if an algorithm could be built to predict when characters would hug, kiss, shake hands or exchange a high five. Prime-time soap “Desperate Housewives” and sitcom “The Office” were among big targets of this artificial intelligence study, “Wastebook” found. “Perhaps a marathon of soap operas and sitcoms is not the best way to teach computers, robots, or any other form or intelligence — real or artificial — to understand human behavior,” according to Flake’s report.
• The FAA has poured $200 million into building and upgrading the MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, which has just one airline operating out of it, “Wastebook” claimed.

Reps for the FAA, National Science Foundation and The National Eye Institute declined comment on Tuesday.

But Lawrence C. Schuette, director of research at the Office of Naval Research, defended his organization’s work – particularly the study of artificial intelligence and “Desperate Housewives.”

“There is an obvious advantage in having computers monitor dozens of security cameras – on a Navy ship, in a shopping mall, or an airport – and providing early warning to security personnel,” Schuette said. “Likewise, having the robotic system anticipate the actions of human teammates has obvious military applications when seconds count.”