Being a Big Mouth about Big Foot Could be a Big Mistake

I've always thought that today's scientist could study and report on just about anything, and someone, somewhere will fund it. Apparently, that doesn't also mean that the scientist can keep his job if he ends up researching something that Academia considers frivolous. Think back to the opening scenes of "Ghostbusters." Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), who has a professorship at a university, is conducting ESP tests. Guess the correct card and you get a smile. Guess it wrong, and you get an electrical shock. The punchline is that one subject, a beautiful young woman, keeps getting all the answers "right" and the young man next to her is getting them all wrong. That is because Venkman is flirting with the girl and just shocking the guy for fun. Later on in the movie, funding cuts do threaten to put them out of work. Guess their research wasn't serious enough. You know the rest of the story. So, now in Idaho, we have a similar situation at Idaho State University where Jeffrey Meldrum is doing serious scientific study on Bigfoot, and has suggested that he has evidence to prove the legend real. He even conducted a symposium on Bigfoot at the college - an event paid for by a private donor because the University would have none of it. Now they are threatening to take his job away from him. Whether you believe in Bigfoot or not, you have to support this guy. After all, there is plenty of ridiculous research going on, remember my story about the drug that makes rats go mad for sex? Someone paid for that. And currently, fat, white mice are being given red wine extract to prove that, with the right supplement, humans can remain overweight, eat whatever they want, and remain healthy. I'd bet that the manufacturers of trans fats and a multi-nation fast food conglomerate is paying for that. So, come on, Idaho State - give the guy a break, let him study scientifically the stuff we read about in the tabloids. Learn a lesson from what happened when the mayor of New York threw the Ghostbusters in jail.

see the article: http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/idaho-professor-criticized-over-bigfoot/20061103142409990002