How we tested toilets
We fed our panel of expert crappers sausages and beans for two weeks and then let them do their worst. The
specially-constructed heads in our laboratory lavatory [see diagram] were outfitted with sophisticated
monitoring
devices and United Federation of Planets technologies, stacks of back issues of our annual Buying Guide, and a
mild
electric shock mechanism hooked to a timer in order to limit reading. We measured waste volume and
consistency, paper
use (we supplied recycled double-ply paper, and plenty of it), and flushing efficiency. Trained smellers,
recruited from
the CR staff and nearby shopping malls, entered the chamber following each trial and completed a standard
Likert Odor
Scale analysis. Hear their entertaining anecdotal impressions in streaming audio at our website.
— “Low-Flow Toilets: Are All Created Equally?” (Consumer Reports
Special
Digestion Issue, December 1999)
