The Brits, facing their harshest winter for years, have turned to the website IllicitEncounters.co.uk to banish their winter blues with a little bit of extra-marital affairs.
On Wednesday, the website announced that it had received a record number of new memberships in the past 24 hours. During this time, the UK had been experiencing some of its worst winter weather in decades, bringing much of the country to a standstill - and perhaps not coincidentally, many of those registering came from the country's worst hit regions.
In a statement reported in the British press, Illicit Encounter's spokesperson Sara Hartley said:
"The adverse weather has obviously influenced many sign-ups. Usually, the West Country is a relatively quiet area for us - but over the last 3 days we have received over 900 new members from Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.
"Perhaps these wives and husbands have just been waiting for a time when they could join, away from the eyes of their work colleagues and, most importantly, their partners."
So, it seems that all it takes is a few inches of snow and British society falls apart.
Further, a little digging on the Illicit Encounters website revealed a press release from May 2008. In the press release, the website delivered the news that every degree the temperature rises over 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit), 20 people a day were signing up to the website. Again, spokesperson Sara Hartley made the statement:
"It seems to have been an endless winter, and the new members with whom we have had contact are saying that suddenly getting the chance to get into skimpier clothes, plus their partners working harder than usual because of the current economic environment helps them make a decision.
"They are in passionless marriages, stale and going nowhere, and feeling neglected - but when the sun comes out and their summer clothes go on they realise how many admiring glances they're getting."
So, in conclusion, cold weather and/or hot weather makes Brits cheat.