Five-second rule: Difference between revisions

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A common superstition, the five-second rule states that food dropped on the ground will not be contaminated with bacteria if it is picked up within five seconds of being dropped. Some may earnestly believe this assertion, whereas other people employ the rule as a polite social fiction that will allow them to still eat a lightly-contaminated piece of food, despite the potential reservations of their peers.

There are many variations on the rule. Sometimes the time limit is modified. In some variations, the person picking up the food arbitrarily extends the time limit based on the actual amount of time required to retrieve the food.

Research

References

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 == Research ==
-The five-second rule has received some scholarly attention<ref>Julie Deardorff [http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/09/health/la-he-capsule-20100809 "Capsule: The five-second rule"] ''The Los Angeles Times'', August 9, 2010, accessed January 18, 2011.</ref> and has been studied as both a public health recommendation and as a sociological effect.
-In 2003, intern Jillian Clarke of the [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]] found in a survey that 56% of the men and 70% of the women surveyed were familiar with the five-second rule. She also determined that a variety of foods were significantly contaminated by even brief exposure to a tile inoculated with ''[[Escherichia coli|E. coli]]''.<ref name="aces"/> On the other hand, Clarke found no significant evidence of contamination on public flooring.<ref name="aces">{{cite news |url=http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news2467.html |title=If You Drop It, Should You Eat It? Scientists Weigh In on the 5-Second Rule|last=Picklesimer|first=Phyllis|publisher=''ACES News, University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences'' |date=2003-09-02 |accessdate=2008-04-24}}</ref> Clarke received the 2004 [[Ig Nobel Prize]] in public health for this work.<ref>[http://improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig2004 Winners of the Ig Nobel Prize: The 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Winners]</ref>
-A more thorough study in 2006<!-- sic. it was published the next year --> using [[salmonella]] on wood, tiles, and nylon carpet found that the bacteria were still thriving after twenty-eight days of exposure under dry conditions.<ref>{{cite journal
- | author = Dawson, P.
- | coauthors = I.  Han, M. Cox , C. Black, and L. Simmons
- | year = 2006
- | title = Residence time and food contact time effects on transfer of Salmonella Typhimurium from tile, wood and carpet: testing the five-hour rule
- | journal = Journal of Applied Microbiology
- | volume = 102
- | issue = 4
- | pages = 945–953
- | month = Apri
- | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2006.03171.x
- | pmid = 17381737
-}}</ref> Tested after eight hours' exposure, the bacteria could still contaminate bread and [[baloney|bologna]] in under five seconds, but a minute-long contact increased contamination about tenfold (with tile and carpet surfaces only).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/dining/09curi.html?ex=1336449600&en=706e4f0cec07d005&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink|title=The Five-second Rule Explored, or: How Dirty Is That Bologna?|last=McGee|first=Harold|work=New York Times |date=2007-05-09 |accessdate=2007-05-09}}</ref>
-The five-second rule was also featured in an [[MythBusters episodes: Season 3#Five-second Rule|episode]] of the Discovery Channel series ''[[MythBusters]]''. There was no significant difference in the number of bacteria collected from 2 seconds exposure as there was from 6 seconds exposure. The moisture, surface geometry and the location the food item was dropped on did, however, affect the number of bacteria.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2005/10/mythbusters_chinese_invasion_a.html|title=Annotated mythbusters: Episode 39  Chinese Invasion Alarm, 5 Second Rule|accessdate=2008-08-17}}</ref>
-Ted Allen put the rule to the test in an episode of ''[[Food Detectives]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodnetwork.com/food-detectives/the-5-second-rule/index.html|title=Food Detectives, Episode OF0101|accessdate=2011-01-31}}</ref> and found that bacteria will cling to food immediately. High traffic areas will lead to even more bacteria on the food.
-As a popular superstition, the five-second rule pops up frequently in popular culture, including appearances in the [[live-action/animated film]] ''[[Osmosis Jones]]'', ''[[Grey's Anatomy]]'', ''[[The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson]]'', ''[[Arthur (TV series)|Arthur]]'', ''[[Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures]]'', ''[[Lucky Star (manga)|Lucky Star]]'', ''[[The Simpsons]]''and ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''.
 == References ==