Stone-Cold Drunk

Despite lots of folklore to the contrary, drinking alcohol to fight off cold temperatures only gives you the impression of warmth, and it can actually make you lose body heat faster than if you had drunk just water. Still, based on new data about Americans' alcohol consumption, it would appear as if many chilly barflies have forgotten that scientific fact.

According to The Daily Beast's inaugural compilation of the "drunkest cities in America," the top 15 drunkest in 2009—including Fargo and Anchorage—have an average annual temperature of about 50 degrees. Beyond that, dozens of tremendously cold-weather climates like Hartford, Connecticut (16), and Buffalo, New York (27), round out the list's top 40, ensuring that deserts like Phoenix (34) remain anomalies on the countdown.

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Check out the list to see where your city falls. And remember, when trying to warm up, blankets always work better than bourbon (though they may not be as fun).

photo (cc) via Flickr user spiritquest