Dating Someone Your Own Age? You're Smarter, Hotter, and Richer, Says Study

Attention all cougars, boy-toys, sugar daddies, and everyone else looking to date way outside of your age bracket: It could be time to wise up.

A new study conducted at the University of Colorado Boulder shows couples with large age discrepancies aren't the Hollywood happy endings we imagine them to be (cue Simon & Garfunkel's Mrs.Robinson).

Instead, overall, people who marry someone significantly older or younger have lower earnings, are less educated, and are less attractive compared to those who marry someone their own age.

"Hugh Hefner is an outlier," says Hani Mansour, Ph.D, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver. Apparently. The study found that men who shack up with women who are significantly older or younger (cough, cough, Hef) make less money than those married to women of a similar age.

And if that not-so-bulging-bank-accounts wasn't enough of a confidence crusher for guys who may be trying to mac on young thangs, a slew of intelligence tests conducted showed that men married to women at least eight years younger scored an average of 8.4 points less than those with wives of a comparable age.

The only findings not particularly eyebrow-raising are that boy-toys of the Ashton Kutcher variety are more attractive than those in other age groups.

“Overall, the estimates indicate that individuals married to differently-aged spouses are less attractive than those married to similarly-aged spouses, with the possible exception of men married to older women,” said researchers of the study.

So older women want hot, young, chiseled men? That's no surprise. What we are surprised about is that men aren't as picky about the younger women they select to bunk up with, according to the study. Looks like we may be the more discriminating sex, after all.

Another surprising find from this study is that while the term cougar has been more popular in the past few years than Andy Cohen at a Real Housewives reunion, it's no hot new trend.

“We really didn’t find any evidence of a new cougar phenomenon,” a researcher for the study said. “Although their share has slightly increased over time, cougars have been among us since the 1960s.” Word.

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

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Can Beer Make You Smarter?

April 13, 2012 at 3:50PM By Korin Miller |

Next time you have a few beers with your friends, you might want to take a sec to mull over that work problem that’s been tripping you up. According to a new study, beer actually helps you think better.

In the study, researchers from the University of Illinois in Chicago divided participants into two groups—one group was given two pints of beer each, and the other were completely sober. Each team was then asked to compete in a bar game where they were given three words and asked to come up with a fourth one that fit the pattern.

The drinkers solved 40 percent more problems correctly and came up with their answers 3.5 seconds faster than their sober counterparts. Sure, beer isn’t always going to make you smarter—scientists discovered that the tipsy people weren’t as great at memory games, but did well at ones that required a little creativity.

First we found out that drinking a glass or two of red wine a day can help you lose weight, and now this. Who’s ready for happy hour?!

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