You know the rule - if you drop a piece of food on the floor and pick it up before you can count to 5, it's OK to eat it. Here's a NYTimes article about a study of the five second rule, with good final advice - it's not OK to eat it. The article gives good ammunition for telling your kids (and husbands) the 5 second rule doesn't work. 5second

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 07:47 am:

Ewww!

By Reds9298 on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 08:44 am:

I thought it was the 3-second rule! LOL

By Karen~admin on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 08:55 am:

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW is right! Deanna, we always said/heard 5-second rule. LOL Jen says it all the time.....

What is *most* disgusting is when you hear about/watch those shows on restaurants - it's a *joke* around here, about the 5-second rule in restaurant kitchens. UGH! That really makes me not want to ever eat out again!

By Bellajoe on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 09:15 am:

I didn't have time to read all of the article, but it always depends on where you are when the food drops on the floor. THe only place the 3 second rule counts to me is at my house. If my kid or I drops a cookie or something on the floor and pick it up right away, i don't care if they eat it. THey have for years and we are all still alive.

I'd never pick something up off the street or in a restaurant and eat it. Even if a fork falls on the floor at a restaurant we don't eat off of it, that's just gross. But I know how clean my own home is.

By Eve on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 10:04 am:

I didn't need to know this. LOL Wow! Ok, and I thought it was how desperate you are--do you have a newborn and the younger sibling just dropped her lollipop and is about ready to cry. "Just wipe it off-it's ok!" Although, the other day, Mason dropped something on the ground and really, really wanted it and I wouldn't let him. There is a time and a place to ignore the germs! LOL

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 10:30 am:

I was opening sterile instruments, recently, for a laceration repair, at work, and one of the instruments fell on the floor. The patient said, "I guess the 5-second rule doesn't apply here!" LOL! I said, "no!" and got a different instrument to replace that one!

By Nicki on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 04:28 pm:

You mean that rule is for real?:-O

My dd dropped her first ice cream cone in front of a busy store front while we where waiting for dh to pick us up. Lara was so upset. A lady was coming out of the store and whispered to me, "Just wipe it off." We cleaned up the side walk and went in and bought her another cone.:-)

By Bellajoe on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 05:20 pm:

"whispered to me, "Just wipe it off."


EEEWWW! That would just be gross and wrong. I definitely would have bought anothe one.

By Dawnk777 on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 07:13 pm:

Nicki, that's so gross. I would have bought her another one, too.

By Cocoabutter on Sunday, May 13, 2007 - 01:37 am:

At Thanksgiving one year my grandma dropped the green bean casserole on the floor. She scooped it back up into the pan and served it, hush-hush. My mom and I told my dad not to eat it.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, May 13, 2007 - 08:43 am:

Oh yuck!

By Imamommyx4 on Sunday, May 13, 2007 - 03:28 pm:

I thought it was the "ten second rule or the dog gets to it first."

Just kidding. But it is what my dh said when we got married

By Tripletmom on Sunday, May 13, 2007 - 06:41 pm:

lol,Debbie We have the 10 second rule here too.Our dog wins most of the time!!