# You have just dropped a cookie on the floor **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553 "2004-10-22T04:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/21 "2004-10-22T13:05:56Z")
What kind of cookie? (seriously) ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/22 "2004-10-22T13:34:26Z")
> [@Sharky](#): > > If the dog is nearby, the cookie would never hit the floor. Snarf! > > If I get to the cookie first, it’s mine. 😃 Same answer. Ginger would snatch that cookie before I got a chance to react. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/23 "2004-10-22T13:46:57Z")
I think my kitchen floor is clean enough that it wouldn’t matter to me at all. Aww, who am I kidding. I _regularly_ drop stuff on my kitchen floor and then eat it. Hell, I drop things on the carpet, pick them up, examine them for cat hair, and then usually eat those, too, if I see no foreign substances on them. Not soup, though. I let the cats lick that up. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/24 "2004-10-22T13:54:29Z")
> [@JoeSki](#): > > You have just dropped a cookie on the floor \<==\>Crunch\<==\> No I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![fatmac98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3ec8ea/32.png) [@fatmac98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fatmac98)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/25 "2004-10-22T13:56:45Z")
> [@JoeSki](#): > > What are you going to do about it? > > Eat it? > > Pick it up and throw it away? Eat it. . . without hesitation. . . 3 second rule. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/26 "2004-10-22T14:00:05Z")
It all depends on how hungry I am and how dirty the floor is. Oh…and if the cookie is sticky or relatively dry. I’m not nearly as bothered by dirt as a lot of people are. I read somewhere that the average person eats a couple pounds of dirt in a lifetime. So, what’s a little more on an otherwise perfecty good cookie? ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/27 "2004-10-22T14:04:20Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > [irrelevant but important hijack] > > BUT, don’t let your dog have it if there’s chocolate in it. Chocolate is apparently really dangerous for dogs. > > [/hijack] I think someone forgot to tell dogs this. My family has had 3 very long lived dogs (21, 15, 19) who all adored chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/28 "2004-10-22T14:05:42Z")
Oooops and the dog can have the cookie (biscuit) I don’t like them. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/29 "2004-10-22T14:10:12Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > I think someone forgot to tell dogs this. My family has had 3 very long lived dogs (21, 15, 19) who all adored chocolate. The effects of chocolate on dogs varies, and is, IIRC, a cumulative thing. But [here’s some Cecilification:](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_211.html) > [@](#): > > Either you’re in serious denial–the mutts, they moved much lately?–or you and they got lucky. Chocolate is the third most common cause of poisoning in dogs. Certain chemicals in chocolate, notably caffeine and theobromine, can cause erratic heartbeat and in large enough doses can kill your pup. While you’re getting used to that idea, consider this: the second most common cause of canine poisoning (after rat and mouse poison) is ibuprofen, the well-known pain reliever. Dogs apparently love the smell and taste, so they chew through the bottles, eat the contents, vomit their guts out, and die. ODing on chocolate and Advil might seem nutty to us, but it’s pretty serious to the dogs. I remember also reading that while a few M&Ms probably won’t kill a dog, a few M&Ms every day probably will. But I might be wrong on that. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/30 "2004-10-22T14:15:42Z")
I’d eat the cookie. I’ve no doubt that my body could survive worse things than a little floor grime. (No, my floors are not really “grimy”, but you know what I’m talkin’ about). ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/31 "2004-10-22T14:28:02Z")
Five second rule? You people are pansies! It’s ten seconds! Everyone kows that germs require at least 11 seconds to migrate from floor to foodstuffs, therefore, a ten second rule is in effect. In case the above didn’t answer the OP, I’d pick the damn thing up, blow on it (cause any germs that somehow got on it in less than 10 seconds can be removed with air) and eat it. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/32 "2004-10-22T14:43:05Z")
Hell, I throw 'em on the floor and eat 'em on purpose _just to show the world I’m a man._ ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/33 "2004-10-22T15:05:51Z")
What floor are we talking about here? My kitchen floor or the killing floor of the local slaughterhouse? ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/34 "2004-10-22T15:06:31Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Five-second rule, depending on the floor. I mean, a restroom floor would warrant an 0.0005-second rule, right? Point well taken. But then I usually don’t eat cookies in the restroom. YMMV. 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/35 "2004-10-22T15:12:51Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > Hell, I throw 'em on the floor and eat 'em on purpose just to show the world I’m a man. That’s nothing. In my day, I used to eat cookies only made from ingredients swept, mopped, squeegeed, what have you, off of the floor, and only from factories with single digit “No accidents or injuries in \_\_\_\_ days” signs. But seriously, I’ve eaten cookies I’ve found on the floor. Not necessarily in my own house, or any house for that matter. What? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/36 "2004-10-22T15:15:20Z")
I would eat it, unless it rolled under the counter where the dog hair collects. Then the dog gets it. One chocolate chip cookie isn’t going to kill your dog if he happens to snatch it. Don’t let them have chocolate on a regular basis, especially bakers chocolate. I had a dog once eat an entire package of hershey’s kisses. He unwrapped each one and left the foil all over the house. Yes, he lived. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/37 "2004-10-22T15:18:39Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Five second rule? You people are pansies! It’s ten seconds! Everyone kows that germs require at least 11 seconds to migrate from floor to foodstuffs, therefore, a ten second rule is in effect. Team up with young scientist Jillian Clarke, and prove whether the extra five seconds makes a difference… [http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/09/16/five\_second030916](http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/09/16/five_second030916) ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/38 "2004-10-22T16:17:28Z")
It depends on what floor in my house I’m dropping it on. I’ve got cats, so certain floors (ones that are carpeted) tend to gather cat hair far more easily than others. If I dropped a cookie on one of our hardwood floors, I’d pick it right up and eat it. If it were on the carpet, I might still eat it, but I’d probably inspect it far more closely. ---
**Author:** ![Cherry2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cherry2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry2000)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/39 "2004-10-22T16:58:13Z")
I’d eat it…definitely. Hell, I remember as a kid that certain immunizations (the one for polio, if I remember correctly?) used to be given by putting a killed virus in a solution on a sugar cube. So if I am willing to munch a block of pure sugar that I know for sure has been coated in some sort of virulent swill, why would’t I eat a cookie off of the floor? Who knows? It might even be good for you! Kinda like a free flu shot 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553/40 "2004-10-22T17:05:50Z")
Depends on when the last time I washed the floor was, and if puppy has piddled on it recently (when I get home he gets really excited and sometimes a bit of piddle leaks out). Generally I would eat it though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-just-dropped-a-cookie-on-the-floor/270553.md?page=3)