What is the 5 second rule about eating stuff off the ground?

Question

like if u found a hamburger or something on the street and you eat it- five second rule? i don't get it.

Answer 1

If the food spends no more than 5 seconds on the ground it still has no germs that can make you sick. On mythbusters they tested this. They found the food didnt pick up germs unless it landed in a wet area (when picked back up within the 5 seconds limit).

Answer 2

Ewww, no...not in a public place (although I'm sure some people do that) The 5 second rule only applies to your own personal space...like your own house (or maybe your parents house). That's because you know how clean the floor is there. Now the 5 second rule basically means that if you drop something edible on the floor, you can eat it if you pick it up within 5 seconds. There's no scientific research behind this...it's just an old wives tale or superstition...one of those types of things.


Oh, I guess there has been some scientific evidence about this...I always thought it was just one of those things you learn on the school playground or from friends that you just do.

Answer 3

The 5 second rule is not about food that you find, but food that you are eating or preparing to eat. Then oops it fell in the ground. If you pick it up in a hurry and want to continue eating it, you call the 5 second rule especially in front of others.(so they don't think you're gross) But if you didn't want to eat it in the first place just say oops and throw it away.

Answer 4

Guess it's an old wives tale or urban legend that if you drop a piece of food on the floor and pick it up within 5 seconds.....it's still ok to eat and didn't "pick up" dirt or germs from the floor. I saw a show on one of the TV magazine shows and an experiment was done to see if that was true. The testers dropped different types of food on different surfaces such as tiled floor, carpet, sofa, etc.....and then picked them up after 5 seconds and tried to culture what was on the surface of the food item. It was shown that picking a food item off the floor in 5 seconds may have made a small difference depending on where the item was dropped but not so significant to say that the saying is really true.

It doesn't matter though....people still like saying it when they see someone drop a piece of food.

Answer 5

The five second rule is a myth. Anything that falls on the ground I wouldn't bother eating. You never know what kind of bacteria there is.

Answer 6

The 5 second rule means if you drop something on the ground - you have 5 seconds to pick it up if you want to continue eating it... I would use discretion. depending on what it fell in and what it is. Or just not pick it up at all!

Answer 7

It's sort of a joke, but if you drop food on your floor, you have up to 5 seconds to pick it back up. If you don't pick it up in 5 seconds (or 10, or whatever the designated time span is) it's not sanitary to eat anymore.

I don't think this applies to public places.

Answer 8

the myth is that if you drop a piece of food you have exactly 5 seconds before a harmful amount of bacteria gets on the piece of food. So.. you have exacly 5 seconds to pick it up and eat it before it becomes potent. (its just a myth the amount of bacteria that gets on the food does no depend on the length of time the food spends on th ground)

Answer 9

Actually, scientists have found that it can take up to 5 min. (not 5 seconds!) for harmful bacteria to accumulate on a piece of food you've dropped on the ground.
HOWEVER. Eating something off the street is a bit different than eating something off your kitchen floor.

Answer 10

If food's dropped on the ground and you pick it up within five seconds. . . it's safe to eat. I don't care. . . I don't eat anything off the floor, ground, etc. Everytime you come indoors. . . you're carrying bird poop, spit, boogies, etc., from the bottom of your shoes onto your floors. . . ewwww!