releases: https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-uncovers-50000000-nih-grant-studying-peoples-fondness-spicy-foods/
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sen-rand-paul-uncovers-50000000-nih-grant-studying-peoples-fondness-spicy-foods/ | Sen. Rand Paul Uncovers $500,000.00 NIH Grant Studying People’s Fondness for Spicy Foods | 2016-06-21 | 2016 | 2016-06 | Republican | Senate | KY | Rand Paul | P000603 | www.paul.senate.gov | paul | https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/ | scraper | WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rand Paul today released the latest edition of ‘The Waste Report,’ which is an ongoing project cataloguing egregious examples of waste within the U.S. government. In the latest edition, Sen. Paul uncovers the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spending $500,000.00 to study people’s rejection threshold for spice and bitterness. “Our government is spending funds like drunken sailors, but at least sailors spend their own money. This is taxpayer money that is just being wasted! No matter what the result from these wasteful studies, one thing is clear, they leave a bitter taste in taxpayer’s mouths” Stated Senator Paul. ‘The Waste Report’ can be found below. Since 2011, one researcher at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) has received approximately half a million dollars to study people’s rejection threshold for spice and bitterness. The study found people seeking sensation like spice, but generally personality has no relation to liking spicy foods. A paper associated with this study explored the correlation between one’s personality and their affinity for spicy foods. Surprisingly, the same paper discovered that “as expected, a strong relationship was found between liking spicy foods and frequency of chili consumption.” Additionally, similar egregious studies have been uncovered by the office of Senator Rand Paul. One such study sought to determine what level of bitterness was objectionable for chocolate milk consumers. The result: People with a preference for dark chocolate are able to tolerate 2.3 times more bitterness than those who prefer milk chocolate. A third, and also separate study explored the bitterness in wine and how one’s wine expertise predicts willingness to try new wines and foods. The combined cost for all of these studies? Taxation from nearly 70 average Americans working for an entire calendar year. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T01:40:41Z | 2026-04-08T20:54:04Z |