9 Bizarre (And Curious) Government Contract Jobs

Though most people may not be aware of it, the federal government posts dozens of bizarre and interesting contractor jobs and purchase requests on its Federal Business Opportunities website daily. Anyone can peruse the list of contracts and check out how the government uses his or her tax dollars; however, the details may be vague.

Listed below are other strange and interesting posts found on the website over the past weeks.

Cocaine-Addicted Rhesus Monkeys

The National Institute for Drug Abuse, or NIDA, posted a request on April 11, searching for an organization to conduct tests on Rhesus monkeys to determine the efficacy of experimental addiction treatments on non-human primates. To secure the right to conduct the experiment, the researchers must have a laboratory capable of turning the unfortunate experimental group into cocaine addicts and housing them. The control group will be taught to discriminate against drugs while the experimental will learn how to self-administer cocaine.

When administering the potential treatment, researchers will monitor whether it acts as a substitute for cocaine or is ineffective, or even exacerbates the effects of drug addiction. Minyanville called the contracting officer for more details, but he would not divulge information regarding the motives of the experiment idea. He stated that more details would be published in a Request For Proposal, or RFP, on the Federal Business Opportunity website two weeks ago, however, the solicitation page does not contain updates. 

This isn’t the first time that taxpayer money has been used to force primates to become cocaine addicts. In 2010, $71,623 in federal stimulus funds went to Wake Forest University for testing the impact of cocaine on neurotransmitters in monkeys’ brains.

Any Inns at Daytona Beach?

The Air Force had hoped a hotel in the Daytona Beach, Florida, area would respond to a solicitation for a retreat center by April 19. Unfortunately for single Airmen, it appears that no business will provide lodging for a three-day singles retreat from June 28 to June 30. During their stay, the 45 Airmen would have learned how to “enhance [their] personal and spiritual development,” specifically learning how “giving proper care and attention to [their] spiritual dimension can also enhance [their] physical, mental, and social aspects.”

What type of facility would have been used to help them encounter their spiritual side? Not an ascetic retreat house, but rather one rated no less than “Four Diamonds,” according to the AAA standard (five is the highest). Hotels that meet this requirement near Daytona Beach are the Wyndham (NYSE:WYN) Ocean Walk Resort, the Sea Shells Beach Club, and the Shores Resort and Spa. 

At the end of April, however, the contract morphed into a request for lodging for an active duty military couples retreat. The 32 couples stayed at a hotel in Daytona Beach from May 3 to May 5 provided by RB Daytona LLC & Hospitality Ventures MA, which received almost $35,000 for the contract.(Added-Chris)