The Five-Second Rule: We all know that if food falls onto the floor, if you pick it up within five seconds, it's okay to eat it. The graphic below demonstrates that. :sm02:...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

We all know that if food falls onto the floor, if you pick it up within five seconds, it's okay to eat it. The graphic below demonstrates that.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I remember seeing a Mythbusters episode which tested the 5 second rule. Their conclusion was ""Even if something spends a mere millisecond on the floor, it attracts bacteria," MythBuster's five-second rule myth buster continued. "How dirty it gets depends on the food's moisture, surface geometry and floor condition - not time." Worst case is probably dropping moist food on a carpet.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

JohnSwanda wrote:

I remember seeing a Mythbusters episode which tested the 5 second rule. Their conclusion was ""Even if something spends a mere millisecond on the floor, it attracts bacteria," MythBuster's five-second rule myth buster continued. "How dirty it gets depends on the food's moisture, surface geometry and floor condition - not time." Worst case is probably dropping moist food on a carpet.

Of course. As clean as a floor or a counter might seem, I'm not going to eat food that fell onto it.

"Moist food onto a moist carpet (got pets?)" would be the worst.

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

The one thing that is generally ignored in talking about the five second rule is that there is bacteria on all the food we eat. But just like our prehistoric ancestors and beasts in the wild, we have millions upon millions of bacteria-destroying bugs of our own in our bodies that kill, digest and discard much of what we ingest. How many people keep their toothbrushes many feet from our bathrooms? Mythbusters also did a show in which they measured the coliform bacteria in our bathroom. Our toothbrushes are more contaminated that that M&M you dropped on the floor.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Burtzy wrote:

The one thing that is generally ignored in talking... (show quote)

A new field of study is the "personal biome." Everyone has their own little universe of bacteria living on and in them. They think that this will allow authorities to identify people someday - like we use fingerprints now.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

The 5-second rule is just a rationalization; we all know it's not the particularly true but we don't want to waste food. Oh wait; that's a rationalization, too.

BTW from the TV show "House": "A white lie is a lie we tell others to make them feel better. A rationalization is a lie we tell ourselves to make us ourselves feel better."

cbabcock

When I invoke the 5 second rule (longer, if I'm not quick) it is because I've decided to eat the morsel, not fearing the consequences, and make a joke about it.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

fourlocks wrote:

The 5-second rule is just a rationalization; we all know it's not the particularly true but we don't want to waste food. Oh wait; that's a rationalization, too.

BTW from the TV show "House": "A white lie is a lie we tell others to make them feel better. A rationalization is a lie we tell ourselves to make us ourselves feel better."

Dannj

cbabcock wrote:

When I invoke the 5 second rule (longer, if I'm not quick) it is because I've decided to eat the morsel, not fearing the consequences, and make a joke about it.

👍😂

Dr Grump Loc: Southern New England

I eat things dropped on the floor to give my immune system something to do and keep it alert and always on the look out for dangerous microorganisms.

cbabcock

Dr Grump wrote:

I eat things dropped on the floor to give my immune system something to do and keep it alert and always on the look out for dangerous microorganisms.

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

Actually the 5 second thing makes perfect sense. An airplane drops a big crate of food to a group of people stranded on a desert island. Do the hungry people stand directly under the crate as it’s falling? Of course not because they don’t want to be crushed. So they back off until it hits the dirt and then they swarm over it. Same thing with that cinnamon roll you dropped. Whether you’re human or bacteria, self preservation comes first.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I'll be 87 early next month and I've frequently eaten food that has dropped on floors, carpets, counters, chairs and my lap. No issues or diseases yet. Maybe I'm just very lucky?
Mark

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Dr Grump wrote:

I eat things dropped on the floor to give my immune system something to do and keep it alert and always on the look out for dangerous microorganisms.

Since you're a doctor, I'll heed your advice.

W9OD Loc: Wisconsin

Oh no! I thought it was 10 seconds😳.