5 Second Rule—FALSE!
April Daniels Hussar,SELF magazine
Dropped your cookie (or granola bar, or apple) on the floor? Better leave it there. Yes, we have sad news to report: The "Five-Second Rule" has been disproven in a recent study.
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According to researchers at San Diego State University (funded by The Clorox Company--no surprise there), germs are faster than you think. Fast enough, it seems, to contaminate that bite you thought you could save by swooping it up off the floor and declaring, "Five-Second Rule!!"
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The team at SD State University dropped baby carrots and "sippy cups" onto various surfaces (including countertops, highchair trays, tile floors and carpet), picked them up within five seconds, and tested them for germs--which they found plenty of. In a disturbing bit of news, carrots picked up the most germs from the counter, which makes us think twice about where we put our food, to say the least.
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"We wanted to know if there was any truth to the theory that bacteria need time to attach to surfaces of fallen food or commonly dropped items like sippy cups," said co-author Scott Kelley, associate professor of biology at San Diego State University, in a press release. "Unfortunately, for those of us who lived by that rule, it looks like a total myth. Five seconds is all it takes."
What's next-there's no Santa Claus?!
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