# Five-second rule! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 12, 2002, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521 "2002-07-12T00:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/21 "2002-07-16T05:47:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scarlett67 \* > \*\*I have two dogs. I’ve never had an opportunity to test the five-second rule. \*\* Speaking of dogs, when I go walking with my dog, I’m sure he goes by the 5 month rule. :eek: I try to stop him! ---
**Author:** ![JimSox5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JimSox5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimSox5)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/22 "2002-07-16T06:15:51Z")
I go with the three-second rule. Movie floors are a definite no. Definite, definite NO! After hearing a girl in my Spanish class utter her rule, “God made dirt so dirt don’t hurt,” I didn’t feel nearly as bad about my rule. ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/23 "2002-07-16T07:11:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Recursion \* > \*\*Doesn’t avoiding germs in your youth cause your immune system to cause allergies? > > I wish I could coherently explain myself. I saw a special on this on TLC or the Discovery Channel or something. You know, the one where that woman gets bitten by a wasp, and she’s fine the first time. Then, the second time, her bodies made a certain kind of antibody, or something, and she goes into anaphylactic shock and nearly dies. They said it was because she was not exposed to many germs as a young child, so her body didn’t make the switch to “adult” antibodies, or something. > > I’m not sure if antibodies are the right word. \*\* I’ve not the foggiest Idea if this theory has any factual merit at all, but anecdotally, I can say that familis I’ve known who keep spotless home (plastic on the furniture, home sterilized to within an inch of it’s rafters, etc.) are some of the most UNHEALTHY people I’ve ever know. They always seem to have colds, flus, and other ailments. Contrast that to the families and people that I know (like me) that live just three steps above third world squalor, and their much, much healthier and stronger. Could it be that living in and eating a little dirt is actually good for us? As for the original intent of this thread, I follow the “how dirty was the floor, actually” rule. I’ve been known to pick things out of the ashes of the campfire, spend a minute pulling the biggest pieces of crud off and then eating it. I’ve never gotten a serious disease in my life 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/24 "2002-07-16T13:38:00Z")
Reminds me of the time I dropped a gumball in the store. The guy at the counter, with a lecherous grin, told me to “go ahead, I’m sure you’ve eaten worse”. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/25 "2002-07-16T13:42:07Z")
Five second rule absolutely applies, in a home (that seems reasonably clean) or outside on the nice clean dirt/grass. But not in a movie theater, or a stable, or anyplace else dirty. My general rule of thumb is that the five-second rule applies to any floor or surface I would not object to touching with my hands. If I don’t care to touch it, I don’t eat from it. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/26 "2002-07-16T14:28:58Z")
See, where this really came into play for me is here, at work. I like to snack on something while I’m chained to the PC, and that something is usually Chex mix, or peanuts, or something like that. Every now and again, a stray Chex escapes my predatory maw and dives in a failed suicide attempt. I pick it up, give it a quick dust, and munch away. Mmm. But if I roll over it with my chair, it’s going to the trash. And if it’s been there a little while (i.e., I forgot all about it), it’s going, too. Hey, you can’t be too careful. ---
**Author:** ![Spritle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Spritle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spritle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/27 "2002-07-16T16:12:07Z")
To the **recursion/TVguy** hijack. There was a study a few years back in, I think, Switzerland looking at absentee rates of elementary school children. The hypothesis was that children exposed to more “germs” would have higher resistance and fewer sick days. The study looked at children in one elementary school that drew from farms and “city” apartments/condos. Swabs were taken from the homes, absentee data were collected on the students, and parents were given a “general health” questionnaire. The study found that farm kids were exposed to more funk in their environment than the apartment kids and had statistically significant fewer sick days. ---
**Author:** ![breaknrun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbce88/32.png) [@breaknrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breaknrun)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/28 "2002-07-16T19:21:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TVGuy \* > \*\* > Could it be that living in and eating a little dirt is actually good for us? > \*\* My late grandmother, former head nurse of a hostpital in MA, firmly believed this. I was a very picky eater as a child and followed the 1 nanosecond rule. Basically, if it left my hand or fork and did not fall back onto the plate I was eating from, it was considered inedible. She used to tell me, “Go out there and eat some dirt. It’s good for you.” I’m not so picky now but food still almost never touches my floor. The new rule is: if it leaves my hand, the dogs will get to it before I do so it’s inedible. ---
**Author:** ![Flamsterette\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/41988e/32.png) [@Flamsterette\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flamsterette_X)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/29 "2002-07-16T19:50:38Z")
Well, in Chinese restaurants, it’s the 3-second rule. Generally, if something drops on the floor, you don’t want to pick it up and eat it. (no, not even after blowing on it) If it drops from your choipsticks into your bowl or on your clothing (heaven fobid), then it’s all right. However, if the foodstuff in question drops on the table, your indow of opportunity is three seconds maximum. (the table being dirty with everything else dropped or spilled on it) F\_X ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/30 "2002-07-16T20:08:30Z")
While yes, the 5 second rule is observed in my house, a key exception is the Kid Corollary: “When the Wife has determined that the Husband is actively functioning as a Role Model for the Children, then the 5 second rule is NOT in effect” Let’s also not forget the Infield 5 Second Rule: “If the food is dropped while there are still one or more courses left to the meal, and there is a chance that you could be accused of dropping the food on purpose in order to get out of a conversation with Aunt Martha, the 5 second rule is NOT in effect.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/31 "2002-07-16T20:08:34Z")
Personally, I use a “five-secondish” rule, based on how dirty the floor is. But I don’t think that there’s really any logic behind this. I mean, if the floor is dirty then the food gets no dirtier if it sits there for half a second or thirty seconds - unless it’s actually so dirty that things can _crawl_ onto it. (ugh!) Although you would have to take the type of food into consideraiton (i.e. wet). About the kids sick days and the dirt in their environment - was the rate of illness measured, or just the number of sick days? Maybe the farm kids are more likely to go to school when they’re a little bit sick, and apartment kids are more likely to stay home in bed (even if not strictly necessary). ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/32 "2002-07-16T20:45:28Z")
One of the best things about having dogs is that you never have to worry about the “five second rule”- food, dropped on the floor anywhere within earshot of a dog, won’t even have a CHANCE of being on the floor for five seconds. Hell, who needs a mop? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/33 "2002-07-16T20:46:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WordMan \* > \*\*Let’s also not forget the Infield 5 Second Rule: > > “If the food is dropped while there are still one or more courses left to the meal, and there is a chance that you could be accused of dropping the food on purpose in order to get out of a conversation with Aunt Martha, the 5 second rule is NOT in effect.” > \*\* Same if you drop your food, fork, whaddever for another reason … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GKW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@GKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GKW)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521/34 "2002-07-16T21:25:03Z")
Where were y’all brought up, in a barn? I thought this was going to be about basketball. We share our lives with tons of microscopic cooties that we never see and since we are oblivious of their presence, we don’t worry about them. Our bodies are made to protect us against their invasion. Unless you have something wrong with your immune sytem, I think you can safely eat food that’s fallen on the floor. But Miss Manners would frown. Confess moms- how many of you’ve picked up that pacifer that junior spit out and plopped it right back in? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-second-rule/118521.md?page=1)