Does classical music make better ice? Sochi rink staff think so

Photo by Patrick Semansky/AP

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Classical music has already--controversially--played a starring role in the Winter Olympics. Now it turns out that it's apparently been crucial behind the scenes as well.

"We had classical playing here, so that the ice crystalizes in the proper hard manner, not rock music, not silence," Sochi icekeeper Dimitri Grigoriev tells NPR. "We actually have Vivaldi's Four Seasons playing during certain stages of preparation."

Even those who believe in stimulating pre-birth babies with Beethoven and playing Handel for houseplants might find that farfetched, but Grigoriev is convinced. "Noise creates vibration and during the freezing process of water, those vibrations influence the type of ice you get."

NPR couldn't find any scientific research to support Grigoriev's claims, but Performance Today host Fred Child may have some anecdotal evidence to share.

"Ice cube consistency," Fred quipped in an e-mail to MPR staff. "This is why I play Mozart in my freezer."