Last week, a handful of staff members were able to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI). During this tour we were delighted to learn about GHRI’s various departments, testing processes and research staff (scientists, engineers and nutritionists, oh my!).

Below I’ve compiled a ‘Top 5’ list of a few things that blew our PR minds:

1. The GHRI was founded in 1900 (that’s before the FDA) and has been committed to informing consumers and improving the lives of readers through education and product evaluation ever since.

2. They have a super-futuristic climate control sealed room that can produce freezing temperatures (ideal for winter coat testing) or can create hot and humid weather (to test anti-frizz hair products).

3. More than 11 U.S. Presidents have dined in Good Housekeeping’s dining room, which is a complete replica of the 100 year old room that was in the first GH office.

4. Good Housekeeping guarantees the quality of each product that bears the Seal – They’ll even reimburse consumers that are unhappy with their products.

5. And the kicker: When scrambling to remove a stain, regular water works JUST as well as seltzer water (oldwives tales be damned)!

Obviously, there are about 1,000 more interesting tidbits from our trip to the storied GHRI Headquarters that I wasn’t able to include (especially for a girl who recently conducted lab-like research of her own before buying a blender). Luckily, Good Housekeeping has posted everything you should know about the GHRI on their web site (which just so happens to also have a wealth of information on every product imaginable).

Jenna