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In a world full of germophobes, does the 5-second rule hold true any longer?

makonero

makonero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,656
I'll admit, a few days ago a friend picked an orange slice off the kitchen floor and ate it, and I was a little disgusted. He invoked the 5-second rule and thought I was weird for being grossed out.

So, in 2018, does the 5-second rule still hold? Should it be revoked? Repealed and replaced?

Does it matter what the food is? Do you wash it off?

What say you, ERA?
 

Mister Saturn

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
308
It never held true. Shit falls on the floor, unless you're cooking it thoroughly afterwards then you're always running a risk (and sometimes even cooking thoroughly won't prevent everything).
 
Ryaaan14

Ryaaan14

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,055
Chicago
The 5 second rule still applies to anything nonporous tbqh

If u drop a piece of chocolate cake on the floor u gotta just let that shit go

A peanut butter M&M tho? Hork it
 
Slackbladder

Slackbladder

Member
Nov 24, 2017
1,145
Kent
It never mattered in the first place. Any germs collected off the floor would've been collected as soon as they touched. This 5 second rule is nonsense. Chances are you'd be fine anayway. Most of the germs we're surrounded by are esentially harmless otherwise we'd be getting sick all the time. That said dropping food into mud or dirty water would mean eating it could be potentially dodgy but who would eat it anyway.
 

Deleted member 24550

Ac
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,398
5 second rule was never true, bacteria latch on instantly. But being a germaphobe is worse for your health than occasionally eating a bit of dirt.
 
Hero of the Wild

Hero of the Wild

Banned
Nov 27, 2017
680
Screw the 5 second rule if it lands in dirt and hairs and stuff it's not getting eaten. If it lands on a clean floor it can go to at least 7.345 seconds all the way to say 3 minutes depending on the seasons and atmospheric conditions.
 

____

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,734
Miami, FL
I use it still. I'm still living and fucking healthy, so prove to me it's not a valid rule.

Sidenote: A co-worker told me I'm a "germaphobe" for expecting other co-workers to wash their hands post-ass wiping > pre food-touching. He said (and I quote): "that's why we have immune systems."
 
Burly

Burly

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,073
You eat small amounts of maggots and animal shit, daily. How dirty do your floors really get?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Defect_Action_Levels
The Food Defect Action Levels: Levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods that present no health hazards for humans is a publication of the United States Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition[1] detailing acceptable levels of food contamination from sources such as maggots, thrips, insect fragments, "foreign matter", mold, rodent hairs, and insect and mammalian feces.
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scotdar

Banned
Dec 10, 2017
580
The fear of germs is so out of control these days, the rule in my house is just a matter of can you get it off the floor before the dog.
 
Barrel Cannon

Barrel Cannon

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,291
Meh, I've visited enough other countries to realize that most Canadians/Americans live in a bubble. I was a germaphob for a big part of my teenage years and early adulthood. I've realized it was unnecessary. Basic hygiene is a must, but unless I drop food in something that I can see or in an area that I know will be easily contaminated I don't bother throwing it away. I've seen too many starving people to be that wasteful.
 
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,109
It's crazy how much cognitive dissonance I have with stuff like this. I'm sure I'd also be disgusted if I saw someone eat off the floor, but when I was a kid I regularly drank water from a hose. I am planning on going easy on the hand sanitizer when I have kids.
 
gutter_trash

gutter_trash

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
17,124
Montreal
depends, if it has a hard shell like an M&M or a Skittle, you can wipe that off.

but if it's a raisin that has some stickiness to it, forget about it
 
ReAxion

ReAxion

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,882
It was never a thing. But the ability to handle bacteria varies across humans... and environments.
 
Van Bur3n

Van Bur3n

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
26,089
I know it ain't a thing, but I will eat shit off the floor. Ain't gonna kill me.

And come on, some foods deserve every bite, even when they hit the floor. To waste it is out of the question.
 
Keasar

Keasar

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,724
Umeå, Sweden
The 5 second rule is BS. It doesn't really matter how long something has been on the floor.

Unless the floor is extremely dirty, it's not that much more dangerous to eat from than your plate. Though in America people walk around indoors with shoes so they are bound to drag a ton of shit around on their floors.

If it's non-solid food, then you can wipe it up and throw it. Solids are easier to just quickly clean from any dust or hair that might have stuck. It's no big deal.

If you eat an apple without boiling it, peeling it, and then meticulously checking it for any faults in biological structure, you can just as well eat something that landed on a relatively clean floor.
 
itwasTuesday

itwasTuesday

The Fallen
Oct 30, 2017
8,078
WT3tSc5.gif
 
OP
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makonero

makonero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,656
Clay said:
It's crazy how much cognitive dissonance I have with stuff like this. I'm sure I'd also be disgusted if I saw someone eat off the floor, but when I was a kid I regularly drank water from a hose. I am planning on going easy on the hand sanitizer when I have kids.
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This is exactly why I posted. I'm not sure when I became a germophobe, but I didn't always behave like this. Maybe it's time to start eating that peppered floor turkey.

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Zutroy

Zutroy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,592
As long as it hasn't fallen onto something clearly dirty like shit or puke, it's still good to eat from my perspective. Little bit of dirty never hurt anyone.
 
Rayne

Rayne

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,634
5 second rule just amuses me because that piece of food had plenty of bacteria on it to start with. And if your house is so dirty its a concern your food's not clean to begin with.

(Unless you drop it outside. Then yeah throw that shit away)
 
Saiyaman

Saiyaman

Member
Dec 19, 2017
1,856
If the world is full of germophobes wouldn't the floors and everything else be cleaner? We should probably extend it to 10 seconds at this point.
 
Mad Max

Mad Max

Member
Oct 27, 2017
151
The rule is BS but I invoke it anytime I eat something off the floor just to get a rise out of others.
 

Deleted member 32561

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 11, 2017
3,831
It was NEVER true, but, you know what? Food is food. As long as it doesn't have hair and visible dirt clinging to it and didn't fall in a mud puddle or someone's shit or something else noticeably unsanitary who cares?
 
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