Leonardo's "Tree-Rule" Helps in High Wind

Leonardo discovered many things, described many experiences and posed countless questions throughout his reign as THE quintessential Renaissance man, but one of his findings may have finally found a reason...

He found that, on some trees, the sum of the splitting branches' cross-sections equaled that of the original branch or trunk. While it doesn't hold true for many trees, no one could figure out why it worked for a number of species. A Scientist now says that the reason could be for increased durability in high winds, dispelling the long held belief that it was due to hydration. The implications of such a finding could affect logging and man-made branching structures (antennae?) among other things...check it out.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-leonardo-da-vinci-tree.html