Five Second Rule: Bunk or Real?

There is this Five Second Rule to food hygiene.  What is it?  Let’s hear it from a sixth grader:

It means that if you drop something on the ground, you can still eat it if you pick it up in five seconds

And why should it be so?  Well lets check out how the little ones see it:

“God made dirt and dirt don’t hurt.. But after five seconds, it’s nasty.” says Chris Evans, 13.

But scientifically, it was said that five seconds is too short a time for bacteria to latch onto the food.  That is why, whenever one drops the last piece of his best cake, one just surreptiously picks up and gobbles it back in!  Well, the scientists at Clemson University (I haven’t heard of it but since NPR is featuring it, it ought to have some weight!) now say that is all bunk!  They have now concluded that that even carefully observing the 5-second rule will not protect your dropped food from gathering bacteria.

Damn!  So, now I cannot pick up the mango piece I drop to eat it?  But wait there is more to it than – one-size-fits-all research.  Here is something from Connecticut College:

A crack team of student researchers at Connecticut College vigorously tested the five-second rule, leaving both wet and dry food on the floor for various lengths of time. And zounds if they didn’t discover that you can leave that gooey bit of macaroni and cheese or that apple slice on the floor for up to 30 seconds! Thirty seconds!

Apparently, they found that leaving Skittles on the floor for FIVE MINUTES was ok!  Hmm.. I knew chocolate from the ground was good!

Hey does the Five Second Rule also work in relationships?  This lady discusses.