Study: As Mercury Drops, IQs Rise

Granted, palm trees, sandy beaches and balmy temperatures might do wonders to cheer people up. But it seems they're not exactly conducive when it comes to brain power.

According to a new study by Northern Ireland's University of Ulster, those living in colder climates develop larger brains than people residing in warmer latitudes.

The average brain size in northern and central Europe is 1,320 cubic centimeters (80.5 cubic inches) and in southeast Europe it is 1,312 cubic centimeters, according to the new study headed by Richard Lynn, who made headlines last year when he announced that women on average had an intelligence quotient five points below that of men.

Germans in particular seem to have benefited from living in a place whose weather is, let's face it, miserable for most of the year. With an average intelligence quotient (IQ) of 107, they came in first among Europeans, followed closely by the Dutch (also 107) and the Poles (106). Next came Swedes (104) and Italians (102), who might prove to be the exception to the rule since the Mediterranean country isn't exactly known for being frosty.

They all came out better in the intelligence stakes than the British, who rated an even 100, ahead of the Spanish (98) and the French (94) who could only comfort themselves by checking the study results for Bulgarians, Romanians, the Turkish and Serbs, who languished at the bottom of the table on 89.