Thursday, October 9, 2008

The case of the $3m overhead projector


During Tuesday night’s Presidential Debate, Senator McCain chastise Senator Obama over earmarks, in particular for an exorbitant earmark for an overhead projector.

“[Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois.”

That must be one hell of an overhead projector.

Fortunately, to save me and others from our curiosity, Gearlog did some investigating and found out that appropriation was requested by the Adler Planetarium to replace an awesome (but obsolete) 40-year old Zeiss Mark VI star projector with a newer model (pictured above).

Adler Planetarium Press Release: "The Adler's Zeiss Mark VI projector - not an overhead projector - is the instrument that re-creates the night sky in a dome theater, the quintessential planetarium experience. The Adler's projector is nearly 40 years old and is no longer supported with parts or service by the manufacturer. It is only the second planetarium projector in the Adler's 78 years of operation."

The earmark was not approved. McCain triumphs over science again!



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