You drop your snack on the floor and quickly snatch it up. It's safe to eat as long as you follow the "five second rule"... right? Scientists are now saying that there may be some merit in the old wives' tale after all.
Millions of people everywhere follow the five second rule, which says you can eat dropped food as long as you pick it up within the five second window. Scientists with the Aston University’s School of Life and Health Sciences studied the amount of time it takes bacteria to stick to a piece of dropped food, and found that food picked up within a few seconds of being dropped contains significantly less germs than a piece of food left on the floor for 30 seconds or longer. The type of flooring also plays a big part in the transfer of bacteria, The type of flooring the food has been dropped on has an effect, with carpeting being the least likely to transfer bacteria and laminate/tile being the most likely. Director Anthony Hilton admits that eating dropped food still carries some risk for infection, and that it "depends on which bacteria are present on the floor at the time." National Geographic points to another study done on the topic, which found that moist foods were more likely to pick up bacteria than drier foods.
The study also measured how many people would be okay with eating dropped food, and showed that the overwhelming majority (87%) would eat it. 55% of that number are women. Unsurprisingly, 81% of the women who would eat food from the floor would follow the 5 second rule.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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