The Secret of the Stradivarius

Stradivarius violins have long been known to produce exceptionally melodious music. This was credited to the genius of the violins' Italian craftsmen Antonio Stradivari.

However, scientists have recently discovered that there could be another reason. Stradivari lived during the Little Ice Age when trees grew little more in summer than in winter. This produced uniformly dense wood that produced better sounding violins.