5 Comments

College students scientifically prove that you have 30+ seconds

June 14, 2007 by in Cool,Random with 5 Comments

We’ve all done it. Accidentally dropped a sandwich, brownie, piece of candy, pizza, anything that we were thoroughly enjoying. To see that delectable morsel of food drop to the ground – for a second or two, we all imagine the possibility of picking it up to enjoy once again… That is until your significant other slaps you on the back of the head saying "don’t even think about it!"

Well to prove all of the naysayers wrong, college students from Connecticut College have applied a little science to prove that it is OK to pick-up that piece of food. The question is whether or not you’ll follow through with the urge to do so.

A man drops a brownie on the floor. If he picks it up within five seconds, should he still eat it? Two U.S. students claim the answer is yes.

In fact, they say he could wait half a minute.

The students, who are seniors at Connecticut College, studied the five-second rule as part of their microbiology class.

“It is an eye-opener,” student Molly Goettsche told ABC News. “There may be a little more time than just seconds.”

First they dropped Skittles candy and apple slices on the school’s dining hall floor for different lengths of time.

Then they swabbed the food for samples and checked for any bacteria.

Their conclusions may be a relief to those who rescue fallen food: it took more than 30 seconds for bacteria to cultivate on the apple slices, which represented wet food.

So come clean! You’ve just dropped a piece of your favorite food on the floor (it’s the last piece). You quickly pick it up off the ground after 5 seconds. Are you going to blow the few pieces of hair and dirt off to enjoy it? Or, are you tossing it in the trash?


  • http://winnopeg.com Andre

    Mythbusters proved the exact opposite thing – I’ll be believing them. :P

  • Michael

    The debate will rage on. And most college students won’t care. I, a college student, will eat the worthy food that has fallen on the floor, with few conditions. A lunchroom is debatable, but my own floor or a floor in a less highly-trafficked area, it is fair game. I know I am eating germs and the occasional stray hair(probably just mine), but it can be said that humans eat many mice droppings, spiders, and even a roach or two. And no harm is done. The body does a very good job at defending itself.

    If you are worried about some random germs, don’t go out in public. You have a higher chance of getting sick from the door knob entering work, or the random ATM, or even the phone that the previous user slobbered on.

  • http://singlewall.com Marc

    From a science standpoint, Im with Andre, Adam and Jamie on this one.

    Although I personally follow what I call the “caveman” theory, which is basically that cavemen had to eat all manner of nasty food items and they lasted at least long enough to create all of us.

    I dont think a little dirt or carpet fuzz is anything to worry about…now eating something that fell on the floor of the MUNI is another story!

  • Ian

    I follow the “it just depends when and where” philosophy.

    If it falls on my kitchen floor, no biggie. If it falls on any bathroom floor, I might not even want to pick it up, let alone eat it.

  • http://mykalcave.com Myke

    Yeah Im with Ian. Just when and where. If I drop my candy bar in a puddle, you can be sure its staying there.

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