I just love this picture.

But saith good:

Sometimes it’s easy to make fun of the government’s science projects. It was easy to make fun of the kids who crushed it at the science fair in elementary school too, but the kid with the functioning marshmallow cannon probably has a much cooler job than you do today. Now, a rare bipartisan coalition of politicians—plus an assortment of scientists, universities, and business leaders—are reminding us that when it comes to doing our research homework, it’s better to take the long view: Even weird science projects can pay off big down the road.

Here’s how the U.S. government is helping to defend weird science.