yes we paid for this. I am not for the government giving money away, however I come from the research world. the reason that some of these dumb studies are funded is because if it is not properly documented in a controlled research study then you don't really know what would happen. I do know that it is a PITA to get a grant proposal approved. I think it is somewhere along the lines of 5% of grant proposals submitted to NIH get approved. and they are very lengthy, must have all bases covered, specific scientific goal for the project etc. grants are needed so that students can have the opportunity to learn proper research techniques, how to write proposals, interpret data, write their thesis and submit for publication. some schools do not even give students the option to do any research because of the legalities, liability, cost.
and yes some studies are ridiculous.