For each 16-point jump in their IQ, their marriage prospects decreased by 40 percent.

In contrast, boys' chances for marriage increased by 35 percent with each 16-point rise.

The British study measured the IQ of 900 11-year-olds, revisiting them 40 years later to note how their lives had progressed. Their conclusion: Men like to be in control of a relationship.

Another study, at the University of Michigan, suggested that men would rather marry women in subordinate jobs because they think that high-powered career women are more likely to commit adultery.

And according to a quote in the Daily Mail from lead scientist Dr. Stephanie Brown, "The hypothesis is that there are evolutionary pressures on males to take steps to minimize the risk of raising offspring that are not their own."

So what's the deal? One theory is that men want women who will stay home, raise the children and care for them.

Most of the press so far on this study has taken the stance that smart chicks are basically out of luck—no man will want them. (This is a common theme in the media: You're over 30? You'll never get married! You have children? You'll never get married! ) I wonder though, do smart women know something the rest of us don't? (I mean, besides the molecular formula of spam...). Maybe it's not that smart women can't find husbands. Maybe they've seen the inventory, weighed their many options and decided to go it alone instead. Maybe some smart women just find the idea of being a wife unappealing.

As a smart girl who found my perfect match in a very smart guy, the study makes perfect sense to me. On the flip side, I have to say I was more than a little disturbed when I began to wonder if my steady stream of boyfriends and occasional proposals meant I was the slightly dumber girl of their dreams.