Interesting trivia about Stradivari's fiddles. After much high-level research a couple of interesting things were determined: His varnish was made of arthropod (insect or shrimp, perhaps) shells dissolved in some kind of spirits; his wood had an unusually high salt content, and it was found that the place where he bought his wood was by the waterfront in or near Cremona, Italia. How this affected the tone of his instruments is not understood.

Science Teacher Chet W.