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Are wine drinkers smarter?

76. Sure, wine drinkers may think they are smarter, but before you write it off as smugness, consider that there is actually a documented correlation between IQ and preference for wine. In the Netherlands, all young men are required to register for the draft, a process which includes an extensive battery of physical and mental tests. One well-known study cross-referenced the IQ results with beverage preference, finding a clear linear relationship with wine; the smarter you are, the more likely you are to be a wine drinker. The results held up when repeated at intervals several years later. So either wine makes you smart (which is possible based on effects of wine polyphenols in the brain) or smart people are attracted more to wine (a better explanation of the data from this study). Either way, it's a win-win.

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