OK, investigating why men don’t like using condoms isn’t the greatest waste of money that a government has ever perpetrated upon its taxpayers. The current $100 billion to bail out a couple of car firms is still vying for that particular accolade.

But it does seem pretty absurd that they are indeed spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on finding out why men don’t like using condoms.

The federal government is spending $423,500 to find out why men don’t like to wear condoms,

I mean, any man who has actually been sexually active in a manner that requires the use of condoms would be able to point to the answer. Yes, sure, they help to protect against pregnancy, they help to protect against sexually transmitted diseases. But they also reduce sensitivity and thus the physical enjoyment of the act. Nothing very surprising about this nor something that really needs all that money explaining.

Oh well, it’s not as if the NIH doesn’t have a track record in the way that they spend your and my money:

But some questionable queries have come under close scrutiny, including a $400,000 study being conducted in bars in Buenos Aires to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior while drunk; a $2.6 million study dedicated to teaching prostitutes in China to drink less while having sex on the job; and a $178,000 study to better understand why drug-abusing prostitutes in Thailand are at greater risk for HIV infection.

As I say, small sums when compared to the Chrylser and GM bailouts, but wouldn’t that money still be better fructifying in the pockets of the populace rather than being spent on asking questions we already know the answers to?