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The 5 Second Rule Has Been Studied By Science, Here’s The Results

How many times have you dropped something on the floor and scoop down to pick it up as quickly as you can? We all know it as the 5 second…

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How many times have you dropped something on the floor and scoop down to pick it up as quickly as you can? We all know it as the 5 second rule. Which is more of an unwritten rule that says anything that falls on the floor and stays there for less than five seconds is still good to go in your mouth.

Of course, the five second rule was not anything that was based on science, rather, it was some thing that we felt we could live with. When you drop something delicious on the floor that you had hoped to eat, it’s a very disappointing moment in time.
It is so disappointing in fact, that we feel that as long as it didn’t stay on the ground for more than five seconds, it’s safe to pop it into our mouths. Now if you are confident that you have clean floors, perhaps you are not a dog owner that has fur or a cat that’s good, it safe to say that you felt confident eating it.

How can we be sure that it is indeed safe to practice 35 seconds what usually happens is we drop a delicious morsel on the floor and scoop down to quickly pick it up. Maybe you run it under the sink for a few seconds to clean off any debris from the floor. Then give it a quick pat to dry it off, and pop it into your mouth.


Here are the results of the study

He put a petri dish on the ground for various time limits ranging from zero seconds to one minute . . . and then cultivated the samples to see which developed bacteria.

In his experiment, every single sample had evidence of microbial growth, showing that no amount of floor time is safe when it comes to contamination and ruination.

The samples didn't all come back the same.  It got worse the longer they'd been on the floor.  The five-second dish had about the same amount of microbes as the sample that was left on the floor for a minute.

So, it appears that the five second rule did not pass the test. Now, it doesn’t mean that a few microbes on your food is going to be that bad for you. It gives you another reason to keep your floors spic and span.

Bob is a native New Englander, growing up (sorta) in Maine where his love for radio started at a young age. While in high school he hosted radio shows on a local radio station, and he has never looked back. Bob joined the US Navy and served onboard the Sixth Fleet Flagship as a radio and TV host. After serving for 3 years, it was off to Emerson College in Boston. Bob hosted shows in Boston on WMEX, WVBF and WSSH in the 80’s and 90’s before heading to radio stations in Raleigh, NC, Manchester, NH, and New York City. Bob has been married for almost 25 years to Carolyn, a Woburn gal and they have 3 daughters, Nicole, Taylor, and Bridget. Bob and Carolyn are proud first-time grandparents to baby Caroline, who they plan to spoil every chance they get! “I started my career in New England and could not be happier to come back to Boston where I can root for all the Boston sports teams and eat lots of lobster rolls and clam chowder (okay not lots)… It is an honor to host the WROR morning show with LBF and wake up the World’s Greatest City!” Bob writes about recipes and restaurants, pop culture and trending topics.