Behind the scenes at Consumer Reports: Testing equipment comes with funny names

YONKERS, N.Y. - Consumer Reports wants to be known for its scientific and technical testing, but during my visit to the Yonkers, New York, testing facility, I noticed a fun side that's rarely seen on television.

The camcorder and camera lab has a funny looking set with three ladies in crazy and colorful outfits.

"The ladies are very popular," Consumer Reports Tech Manager Jim Langehennig said.

I said, "You have to tell us their names?"

Langehennig replied, "I don't know their names. They came in boxes. It was kind of creepy setting them up."

While the camera and camcorder testing ladies may not have names, I found some labs where testers are named even though they are more machine than human.

Johnny Walker is a machine with rubber nobs that spin on a treadmill. The nobs act like human feet.

New Year's resolution is a machine that tests elliptical machines.

Temper tantrum tests cribs.

"This is a 30-pound weight that drops on the center of the mattress support. We do it 250 times. We want to make sure the mattress supports don't break free," Consumer Reports Product Safety Director Don Mays said.

Then there's the boinker. Who has enough free time to keep a tablet screen from dimming? Consumer Reports built the boinker to test the battery life on tablets.

"We put the tablet under there and the magic finger hits the tablet, hits the screen, and keeps it alive," Senior Program Manager Dean Gallea said.

It's a lively place at Consumer Reports testing facility. It's not all scientific. They do have fun.

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