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I just found out the 'five second rule' for dropped food is actually a real thing scientists studied
Last week, my friend dropped a chip on my kitchen floor and still ate it, saying it was fine because of the five second rule. I always thought that was just a silly joke, so I looked it up. Turns out, a team at Rutgers University did a full study in 2016, testing different foods and surfaces. They found that bacteria can transfer in less than a second, so the rule is mostly a myth. Has anyone else seen other research on this, or is it just common sense?
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vera3081mo ago
Remember the study also showed moisture matters most. A wet piece of watermelon picks up way more germs from tile than a dry gummy bear does. So the rule is wrong, but your floor's bacteria menu depends entirely on what you dropped.
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anna_fox71mo ago
Add texture to the list too, like carpet vs wood.
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simons2822d ago
Ngl I never thought about moisture making that big of a difference, but that watermelon example totally changed my mind.
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