Alpine foresters have insisted for centuries that timber cut on a waning moon in winter is drier, harder and less prone to woodworm. Somebody eventually tested it.

Swiss researchers at the federal forest institute ran controlled fellings and found small but measurable differences in moisture loss and shrinkage in some species — smaller than the tradition claims and not nothing. Mondholz is still sold at a premium for violins and shingles. This is the rare piece of moon folklore with a laboratory attached to it.