Bath time!

A special shower built for French President Sarkozy ended up giving the European Union taxpayers a bath.

This shower was custom built for the 5'5" world leader and included built-in massage and surround sound radio functions. Before you go and get envious, consider the 276,000 Euros ($407,410) it cost to build it. Suddenly, you don't even want one of your own, do you?...

So, almost a half a million bucks for a bath tub... Not the worst example of tax funds wasted, but certainly up there. Until, that is, you consider the following:
This shower was BUILT FOR A 3 DAY SUMMIT!!!
But wait, there's more:
IT WAS NEVER USED!
It has since been dismantled.

Yes. This custom built shower was built for a guy who lived 10 minutes away. As most of us would, throughout the summit, he simply ran home to grab a quick shower when he needed one.

A couple other items mentioned that were purchased for this Union of the Mediterranean Summit includes a $132,799 carpet and a $442,664 podium. Apparently this podium included a live-in person to provide oral sex for the speaker. After all, you wouldn't want to speak to the Union of the Mediterranean with just any ol' podium...

THIS is whyEUROPEANSpaytaxes.

Read more: Row over Sarkozy's costly shower(bbc)