Do Super Bowls Really Predict Elections, Stocks?

Do Super Bowls really predict presidential elections? Or the stock market? Do they make you hit your wife? People have claimed all of these things over the years, so the Guardian decided to take a look at what it calls "Super Bowl-ology," the "science" of making weird claims about the big game. Here's the score:

• The stock market: This one was invented by sportswriter Leonard Koppet as a joke. He noted that whenever an NFC team won, the Dow rose, and whenever an AFC team won, it tanked. People took it seriously. Upon further review: This actually has worked 80% of the time. Perhaps enough investors are trading on this superstition to make it happen, or maybe it's a coincidence.

• Presidential elections: Supposedly, an AFC win predicts a Republican triumph, an NFC win predicts a Democratic one. Upon further review: Tell that to the Bushes—George HW won in 1988 despite an NFC victory, as did his son in 2000.
• Domestic violence: In 1993, a number of women's groups alleged that Super Bowl Sunday was "the biggest day of the year for violence against women," sparking a myth that persists to this day. Upon further review: There was absolutely no evidence to back the claim; in fact, the studies they cited actually contradicted it.
• Impotence: Supposedly, the big game can make it hard for men to score. Upon further review: This was invented by the Weekly World News, citing a study that didn't exist.

(More Super Bowl stories.)