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Dangerous Toothbrush. Much of the time, CR's evaluations are the kind that manufacturers would prefer not to read anywhere. Automobiles often take a buffeting. CR's August issue reports several safety deficiencies in four pickup trucks tested for use with camper boxes and suggests that it would be better to pack a tent in the trunk...
Drugstore items are also common sufferers. Over the years CR has affirmed: Aspirins are all much the same, so there is no advantage in buying higher-priced brands; most cold remedies are a waste of money; mouthwashes have a short-lived effect on bacteria; nose drops can be dangerous to children...
Some manufacturers make the most of a bad rating in CR by correcting reported faults. Some sue (none ever successfully) or try to counter CR in other ways. When CR judged an electric toothbrush dangerous if dropped in water, its irate manufacturer challenged CR to let him brush his teeth while standing in a tub. CR refused the gambit, and the toothbrush was improved...
...appliances, textiles, food, electronic goods and a category labeled "special projects" (odd items like flashlights, electric scissors, bicycles) have separate laboratories at the Mount Vernon operation. An engineer determines what tests will be needed and then supervises them. His exhaustive report is condensed by a writer for use in CR and then given a final check by the engineer. Most used merchandise is auctioned off to employees...
...editorial director of CR is Donal Dinwiddie, a former editor of Popular Mechanics. But its major influence has always been CU's first and only president, Colston Warne. Now 70, Warne also helped found the International Organization of Consumers Unions (47 affiliates in 30 countries), has served on the consumer advisory council to the President, and, until recently, was a professor of economics at Amherst. Virtually all of the annual budget of $10 million comes from sales of CR (60? on newsstands) and occasional books on consumer topics. Most of the revenue is turned back into more product testing...