NPR: The Debunking Of The Five-Second Rule

The Debunking Of The Five-Second Rule

It never ceases to amaze me how science consistently breaks through the barriers of ignorance that we have erected around our most sacred beliefs ... like the five-second rule. You know, the one that says if you drop a piece of food on the floor, you have up to five seconds to pick it up and pop it in your mouth. After that -- to the trash! Every grade school kid knows this rule, for heaven's sake.

A complete myth! Totally untrue! Mere superstition!

A crack team of student researchers at Connecticut College vigorously tested the five-second rule, leaving both wet and dry food on the floor for various lengths of time. And zounds if they didn't discover that you can leave that gooey bit of macaroni and cheese or that apple slice on the floor for up to 30 seconds! Thirty seconds!

And hard food, well, it's unbelievable. Skittles, for instance, can be left for about (dare I write this) FIVE MINUTES before any sign of bacteria is present. (I have Skittles that have been in the back of my minivan for five years -- that's probably too long.)

When I told my colleagues about these findings, they had immediate questions. What about different kinds of floors? What about that really cheap outdoor carpeting that some restaurants use? What about spilled beer? There is immediate need for more research. I have no doubts that a federal grant could be found that would provide all needed funding.

4:03 PM ET | 05-22-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

As a kid I just used the "Is there stuff sticking in it that I can't get off?" criterion...

Sent by Paul Martin | 1:02 AM ET | 05-23-2007

funny!
but no amount of science, and i mean even the most wasteful research you could possibly imagine, will convince me to pick up a WET morsel sitting on ANY floor type and eat it. how is this different from licking the floor? it's not! i'm sorry, there is just no blankety blank way.
yikes!

Sent by sam | 6:32 AM ET | 05-23-2007

I had always figured the five seconds referred to how long you had to rescue the food tipped overboard. After that, the parent police would have issued the "Trash!" directive...

Sent by Arthur Nelson | 10:11 AM ET | 05-23-2007

Finally some break-through information!

Recycled gum stuck under the pews!

I've been scolded for chewing it when I was younger. I have scolded my children (all three have tried it)for doing it. Yet, no harm or immediate impact resulted. Are there any federal grants to calm those fears (and scoldings)?

Sent by Bad Billy | 10:16 AM ET | 05-23-2007

Sam, licking the floor would be like eating a piece of food that has been sitting on the floor ever since the floor was made. The research suggests that many more bacteria have been attracted to the floor over time than to a piece of food over the course of a few seconds or minutes.

Sent by Scott | 10:51 AM ET | 05-23-2007

Yeah, I've gotta agree with Sam. I can dig picking up dry food, no problem. But wet food - I'll leave that for the cats to eat.

Sent by andy carvin | 10:57 AM ET | 05-23-2007

Five-second rule or not, the idea of eating wet food that has fallen on the floor turns my stomach. That's why I never fail to be grossed out by the notorious Thad Matta gum re-chewing video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nJ6BhhTuMI

Sent by Erica Ryan | 11:30 AM ET | 05-23-2007

I too heard that the 5 second rule was debunked but what i heard on the news went in an entirely oppisite direction. It said that if food feel in a place where there is E-Coli or some other bacteria, all that is need is a little to make you sick. So it that that it may not be a good idea to pick up food and eat it.

Now we hear this conflicting information. Well, i rather be safe than sorry. But if this study is true, then its nice to know that we are a lot safer than we give ourselves credit for.

Sent by Jacob | 1:01 PM ET | 05-23-2007

old nooz. Harvard bestowed an IgNobel a couple years ago for research on the 5 sec rule

Sent by larry | 4:59 PM ET | 05-26-2007

Mythbusters on the Discovery channel did a segment on this, too. They came to similar conclusions.

Sent by Elizabeth | 11:07 AM ET | 05-29-2007

I only use the five-second rule at home, but I use it for everything. There's no way to know how clean the floors in a restaurant are. But at home, I've been known to pick up a piece of hamburger or some other food that's jumped out of the pan, and throw it back in. It's getting cooked anyway, right?

Sent by Amanda | 2:44 PM ET | 07-11-2007

5 second Rule! How about the Seinfeld episode where George pulls an eclaire out of the garbage can.

Sent by M Gershey | 2:49 PM ET | 07-11-2007

:: ALERT!! ::
A REPORT ON THIS SILLY DIVERSION HAS BEEN FILED BY THE RESEARCH DIVISION OF the COMMON SENSE POLICE FORCE::
Further research into this dialogue will be conducted in our secret laboratories by our Staff of Seasoned Sensible Sleuths - investigators who have actually practiced Common Sense for years, earning all salient degrees & certifications.
:: DOWN WITH SILLINESS ! IT SAPS THE STRENGTH OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY ::

REPORT ALL VIOLATIONS TO YOUR LOCAL PRECINCT ::

Sent by Bill Marston | 3:19 PM ET | 07-11-2007

I realize the five second rule was suppose to be a "humorous" segment, however listening to it confirmed my feeling how misguided we are concerning food and consumption. My actions and feelings are the opposite of those expressed on Talk of the Nation, Wednesday July 11th. I did try to call in, but I didn't have the number. Neil spewed it out rapidly, and unfortunately, I couldn't find the website location fast enough.

The consensus of callers seemed to be that they would eat a cherry tart off the floor, but not a piece of fruit or vegetable. Do the intelligent NPR callers still not realize heart disease is the number one killer in the USA? Forget about any germs on the floor! A doughnut or cherry tart, in my opinion, is more lethal than eating an unwashed fruit or vegetable because the sugar and fat in them is so harmful to our health.

My grandfather had a grocery store in Lyford, TX, a small town in the Rio Grande Valley. My father, even in the 1950s, saw the wastefulness in America. He use to take us to the garbage dumpster behind Cant's Grocery Store and say he would be able to make us a wonderful meal with what he found in the dumpster. He would gather potatoes, carrots, cabbage, squash, peppers and more and cut off the bruised or rotten parts. Then he would get the bones that the butcher had thrown in the garbage and cut them with the butcher's saw into circular pieces and create "tuétano" (Spanish for bone marrow), which gave the soup a wonderful flavor. With the vegetables from the dumpster and the "tuétano" from the garbage can, he created a delicious soup. I had seven brothers and sisters and not a one ever became sick from eating this marvelous dumpster soup.

Sent by Charlotte Martin | 4:45 PM ET | 07-11-2007

I am with Arthur. Five seconds was the max time I figured I had to pick up the dropped food morsel and pop it in my mouth before my mother saw me. Germs were never even considered...only having to clean up the offending spot if caught.

Sent by Kathryn | 12:57 PM ET | 07-12-2007

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