Among the seven different tests that our science-minded sibling publication Consumer Reports used for its most recent vacuum ratings, the one that seems to get the most attention is the fur test. Steven Colbert once accused CR -- jokingly, we hope -- of killing cats and tearing their fur off. Fortunately for everyone involved, that's not how it works.

In truth, a cat groomer send Consumer Reports bags of fur brushed from a Maine Coon cat. The fur is then weighed out into equal portions and pressed into the test carpeting with rollers. From The Consumerist.