The Consumers Union testing center creates or buys wacky peculiar gadgets to test everything from exercise equipment and washer-dryers to digital cameras, computers and plasma screens.

For example, they purchased this head-and-torso simulator to evaluate audio from headsets, headphones, mobile phones and cordless systems.

The speaker imbedded in the artificial mouth reproduces the typical frequency of speech. Likewise, the built-in artificial ear is more sensitive to the narrow range of frequencies produced during speech.

More gadget testing in The New York Times.