5 Second Rule - Do you or don't cha????

Forums: Food And Drink, Food Safety, 5 Second Rule
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So if you drop something on the floor, do you pick it up, brush it off and eat it? Do you follow the rule or not?

URBANA--High-school student Jillian Clarke investigated the scientific validity of the "5-second rule" during her apprenticeship in Hans Blaschek's University of Illinois lab this summer. You know the rule: If food falls to the floor and it's in contact with the floor for fewer than 5 seconds, it's safe to pick it up and eat it.

According to Clarke, a senior at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, the 5-second rule dates back to the time of Genghis Khan, who first determined how long it was safe for food to remain on a floor when dropped there. Khan had slightly lower standards, however; he specified 12 hours, more or less.
The rest of the article can be found here...
http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/news/list.cfm?NID=2467

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Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 2,524 • Replies: 10

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I knew the Khans, Genghis and Mildred. Mildred wouldnt let anything lay on the floor she always had her vacuum by her side

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I'll eat dry food that falls on a reasonably clean floor, but not wet food.

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I used to tell my daughter (for reasonably dry food on a reasonably clean floor/ground), "Quick! Pick that up and eat it before your mother sees you!"

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No, for two reasons:

1. You don't know what the last person walking on that floor stepped in earlier today and the material is transfered immediately upon impact, not over five seconds. If I can't wash it thoroughly, I throw it out.

2. We have a dog, so snack food never remains on the floor long enough to pick it up.

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When food fell on the floor, my mother used to say: "The devil kissed it". It got me wondering about how often the devil was kissing my shoes or licking my soles.

Nowadays, I do the same as littlek. The devil doesn't scare me as s/he used to.

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What an image -- the devil as linoleum!

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if it is on the floor. usually i throw it out. if it lands on a table or chair i would eat it.

but they say you eat a pound of dirt before you die. whatever that means.

maybe you can't die until you eat a pound! Very Happy

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Nope. I never get a chance. The dogs are there long before 5 seconds are up.

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I don't do it on summer. On other seasons, I always check if no one has stepped on the snow before.

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laekner
what if you drop it indoors?

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5 Second Rule - Do you or don't cha????

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