Have you ever wondered how smart your state is? If you look closely at the decisions made in your statehouse the evidence may be all too clear. But just in case your gut isn't good enough, now you can see how your state's IQ measures up to its neighbors. The data has been compiled from several sources, which appear to be more reputable than the online IQ tests you see taunting you in online ads. What can you do with this information you may ask? You can use the data to trash talk friends in other states or to plan your world domination plot.

A resourceful person could use the data to plot a move to a dumber state in order to have fewer qualified competitors for jobs. In reality this won't likely work out unless you plan to work in a field without a great future; but who knows, maybe you'll get lucky. From the reverse, you can move from a "dumb" state to a "smart" one to find a better state or local government which won't waste your tax dollars as much.

After I found this information I went searching for other data sets to try and find out if there were any correlation or coincidences between average IQ and the many other factors facing our nation. Sadly even after comparing state IQ scores with foreclosure rates, welfare distribution, number of payday lenders and number of McDonald restaurants, no correlation appeared. So much for linking the looming problems of our nation to low IQ scores using data found on the Internet.

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession.

For years, I've lived by a couple rules. For instance, I never eat yellow snow, and I never step foot inside one of those payday lending establishments.

Well, at least my yellow snow rule is still intact.

Like many Americans, I've never had a high opinion of payday lending loan establishments, but earlier this year, utterly broke, I finally broke down. My reasoning was that I'd rather take out a few hundred dollars from a payday loan place than ask my parents for money, something that really loses its appeal after the age of, say, 25, let alone when you're 38. And the last thing I wanted to do was to try to play a cat-and-mouse game with my bank called, "Write a check to the store and hope it's not cashed for awhile."

So I confess. Earlier this year, for the first time in my life, I went to a payday loan place. But I only did it once. Well, twice.

OK, four times.