They did a study for this?

  Sometimes I worry about the logic behind all of the money spent in the name of research. Sure, it can be a good thing if it is meaningful but some of these studies are a tad ridiculous!  I mean, think about it here, why not save a heap of cash and just ask some "old-timer".  Or better yet, give that same person the money you spent for months of research and save a heap of time!  I am quite sure that the person would delight in getting a few cool millions to answer a silly question.  Take for instance, speaking of cool, the recent, earthshaking discovery about koalas.  Yep, we all needed to know that koalas hug trees to stay cool.  Not one of us is going to run out during the next heat wave and hug a tree, now are we?  Nope...thought not.  

  Anyway, why didn't these brilliant researchers just ask me? I am not some scientist or not even highly educated but I do qualify as an old-timer and Pop told me a long time ago why critters "hug" things during summer. I could have given them the same answer that took months of study, millions of dollars in thermal imaging equipment and a lot of head-scratching discussions.   Duh, anyone who has casually observed local wildlife would know the simple answer.  Yep, critters find the coolest place to spend the hottest part of the summer.  Take gray squirrels, for instance.  They do the same thing.  This is common knowledge.  (At least among people who pay attention to their surroundings.) They "hug" tree branches as a method of cooling.  Of course, they hug smaller branches since their little front legs are a lot smaller than those of a koala! Or they go all out "spread eagle" and flatten themselves against a larger branch. But still, come on, did that take a "team of researchers" to discover?  I think not. Hey, and guess what?  Critters, also, have a tendency to seek out a shady spot during the heat of the day! It is called commonsense.

  There are far too many over-funded "studies" done on everything from koala cooling methods to housefly mating habits.  Who cares?  Why not take those same millions to help the needy?  To fund college educations? To care for the elderly?  To clean the planet?  To rebuild cities ravished by natural disasters?  Ok, so you get the idea.  I do honestly believe that koalas are smart critters but no smarter than my lowly gray squirrels. Now the researchers, on the other hand, don't even ask me what I think about their intelligence if it took a "study" to figure out the obvious answer to the question of why koalas hug trees.  (Ok, you researchers! Here is another tidbit of information for you!  Critters also seek out the warmest places to ride out cold winters!  Duh!  That should be worth a few millions, don't you think?)