You know when you are eating a bunch of chips, and suddenly one falls to the ground tragically, but then you’re like, “It’s Fine” and go ahead to eat it anyways? It may have been that you regarded the 5-second rule, or you hadn’t heard of it but just could not let your money go to waste.
But the good news here is that the 5 second rule is legit, as Science tells us. There is a catch though — it’s only true for dry foods. So if you drop a shawarma on the ground, and there’s chicken and sausage flying in every which way, you are going to have to sacrifice that beautiful and tasty treat to the trash.
According to Discovery Science Channel’s The Quick and the Curious, dry food won’t be contaminated by any harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella. Sure, your cookie will pick up some other bacteria, but hey, live a little!
This isn’t the first time the 5-second rule has been tested, but it’s definitely the most recent, and you may well tell anyone who tells you cannot eat things off the floor to take a hike.
When any food flops on the floor, small amounts of bacteria will jump aboard immediately, the video explains. But moist foods left longer than 30 seconds collect 10 times the bacteria than those snapped up after only three seconds.
The reason for this is because bacteria needs water to live. That means if you drop your cookie or chips in a puddle, don’t eat it!
See Also: Pick Food From the Floor? The 5-Second Rule is So Not True!