The wide, weird world of stimulus

What do Bobber the Water Safety Dog, a reach-in freezer, sliced ham and 115 office chairs have in common? They were all funded with Recovery Act dollars.

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Unusual Recovery Act projects

These water safety mascots were brought to you by stimulus.

The government has spent about $85 billion on Recovery Act projects so far, but not all of money is being used to fix roads, provide more Medicare aid to states, amp up clean energy programs or school repair.

There are currently just under 22,000 contracts for stimulus projects. They range from just a few pennies for nuts and bolts at a local hardware store to billions of dollars for nuclear waste cleanup.

But dig a little deeper, and you'll find stimulus has also funded an electric oyster shell dispersal cart, ice machines, $25 million of pork and ham, a reach-in freezer, $3 million worth of auto lawyers, office furniture and nine water safety mascot costumes.

If some of those projects make you scratch your head, you're not alone. Take a peek into the world of stimulus diversity.

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEXT: Bobber the Water Safety Dog (and friends)

Last updated September 04 2009: 1:56 PM ET

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