Scientific proof from the Shabby Housekeeper that it's safe to eat food off the floor!

The Five Second Rule Works!

Any little kid will tell you the five second rule says that if you drop a piece of food on the floor, you can pick it up within five seconds and eat it.

Kids learn this rule from their moms, who have probably used it since they learned it from their moms.

My mom, a practical sort, allowed 10 seconds.

Some people are very fastidious, and think the five second rule is gross. Since I hate to waste good food, I’ve always subscribed cheerfully to the rule. I guess I always figured there wasn’t likely to be anything on my floor (or, I’ll admit, in the dirt at the city park or the floor at McDonalds) that was ickier than a little kid’s face and hands. It's a well known fact that little kids are germ factories. They’re the ones who manufacture and distribute all the icky, snotty, germs the rest of us are trying to avoid.

They are the number one cause of the common cold.

So a little, honest dirt isn’t likely to hurt ‘em. Heck, it’s a lot safer picking up a Cheeto from the dirt than accepting one from a darling little child’s grimy hands.

Understandably, moms all over the world did a little victory dance recently when researchers in the UK reported a study proving that food dropped on the floor actually picks up fewer germs the shorter the time it stays there.

My gut reaction is, "Duh."

But scientifically, you wouldn’t think it would make sense, would you? Food has no feet. It can’t hop, skip or jump across the floor and climb up onto your tragically-dropped eggroll. But it is true nevertheless. Students at Aston University in the UK dropped all sorts of foods onto floors of varying textures for lengths of time between three and 30 seconds. And they discovered that the longer it sits there, the more bacteria it’ll gather.

They also discovered that rugs are the best place to drop your food, clean-up aside. Food dropped on a rug gathers less bacteria than food dropped on tile or wood.

I still don't recommend placing rugs in your kitchen or bathroom. The obvious drawbacks outweigh the benefits. (If you have a son, you'll understand what I mean. Carpet around a toilet is just foolish.)

As people generally do, I’m choosing to take only what I want from this study, ignoring the fact that food does pick up germs from floors, and gloat over the fact that if I grab my pork chop off the restaurant floor really quickly, it’s probably safe to eat. The dirt’s probably sticking to the gravy left on the floor, anyway, right?

And if I grab your kid’s pacifier, Cheerio or cheese stick off my floor while I’m helpfully watching said kid, it’ll be just fine! Besides, you’ll never know. And if you're that worried, get another babysitter.

So happy dropping, grabbing, chomping.