Five-second rule
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- For an obsolete rule in ice dancing, see Ice dancing. For estimating the distance to a lightning strike, see Thunder. For the ska band, see The Five Second Rule.
The exact number of seconds cited may differ depending on the person invoking the 'rule'.
The Food Rule
The rule states that foods—particularly sweet foods like cookies—that have fallen to the ground will not contract any germs until five seconds have passed. The rule provides a convenient rationale for eating food off the floor, and is usually invoked when a group of people are present (as a polite fiction). Thus, for example, a person might drop a dry jelly bean, pick it up quickly, tell his friends "five second rule" and then eat the candy.The five-second rule is seldom invoked in the case of sticky foods, such as ice cream, cold cuts, or jelly beans which have been moistened, particularly if visibly dirty. The origin of the five-second rule is unknown.
In reality, it is usually safe to eat food from a relatively clean floor (see "Research" below). However, the notion that germs from a dirty floor will not reach food for at least five seconds is false. For this purpose, cleanliness is a matter of bacterial contamination rather than visible dirt, although the two often go together. For example, sick people attend hospitals, with the result that a hospital floor which has not been decontaminated properly can appear to be relatively clean, while actually being more contaminated than the dirty street outside.
No data exists for the use of the five-second rule in restaurant kitchens; nonetheless, the practice is thought to enjoy a frequent use by cooks in a hurry. Although the idea of the five-second rule being used in fine dining establishments as an official policy is absurd, its use is not limited to restaurants of lower standards.
Variations
The five second rule is sometimes called the three-second rule, 10-second rule, or the 15-second rule, to some extent depending on locale, the quality of the food involved or the intoxication level of the individual quoting the rule. For example, in American college dormitories the ten-second rule is often quoted as the "drunk version" of the five-second rule. In addition, there is the 17-minute rule, a humourous observation that the transferrence of dirt and germs takes place regardless of how short a time the food is in contact with the ground.It is also widely believed that, in the home, the five-second rule can be extended to at most 15 seconds. In public places and restaurants, however, the amount of time is generally shortened. The five second rule does not apply to large stakeholder conferences, business functions, meetings or in anyplace where work colleagues, stakeholders, and/or management may be watching.
Idioms
There are a number of idiomatic expressions used around the world when eating food which is in some way perceived as dirty or hazardous. Some examples:
- O que não mata, engorda (Brazil: "if it doesn't kill you, it's fattening").
- Lo que no mata, engorda (Spanish-speaking countries: "if it doesn't kill you, it's fattening").
- Chancho limpio nunca engorda (Spanish speaking countries: ("A clean pig never gets fat").
- Dreck macht Speck (Southern Germany: A double-meaning, "Dirt makes bacon" or "Dirt makes fat").
- Dreck reinigt den Magen (Germany: 'Dirt cleans the stomach').
- Was Dich nicht tötet, härtet Dich ab (Germany: "if it doesn't kill you, it makes you tougher").
- Lite skit rensar magen (Swedish: 'Some dirt cleans the stomach').
- Zand schuurt de maag (Dutch: "Sand cleans the stomach").
- 大菌吃小菌 (Chinese: "Big germs (people) eat small germs").
- You'll eat a peck of dirt before you die
- Зараза к заразе не пристанет or Zaraza k zaraze ne pristanet (Russian: "dirt won't do any harm to a dirty one").
- Man skal have syv pund skidt om året (Denmark: "You need seven pounds of dirt a year").
Research
A study on the five-second rule was performed by Jillian Clarke, a high school senior, during a seven-week internship at the University of Illinois in 2003. Clarke and a doctoral candidate named Meredith Agle took swab samples from various floors around campus. They then looked at the samples under a microscope and discovered that they did not contain significant amounts of bacteria. The conclusion was that in most cases, dry floors would be safe to eat from.However, Clarke also wanted to test the five-second hypothesis in cases where the floor was known to be contaminated. She therefore spread E. coli on both rough and smooth floor tiles in a laboratory, placed pieces of gummy bears and cookies on the tiles for various amounts of time, and then examined the foods under the microscope. All the foods had a significant amount of bacteria after less than five seconds. Her findings therefore disproved the five-second rule.
In the course of her research, Clarke also conducted a survey to sample opinion on the five-second rule. She found that seventy percent of women and fifty-six percent of men were familiar with the five-second rule, and most utilized the rule in their decisions to eat food that had fallen on the floor. She also found that women were more likely than men to use the rule, and that cookies and candy were more likely to be picked up than broccoli or cauliflower.
Clarke's work won an Ig Nobel Prize for Public Health in 2004.
The five-second rule was also featured in an of the Discovery Channel series MythBusters. The results they got from their tests confirmed Clarke’s findings: time was not a factor when food is exposed to bacteria, even two seconds' exposure is more than enough time to contaminate it.
The Seating Rule
The rule is used at parties or other busy gatherings where seating is in short supply. If someone leaves their seat to visit the toilet or get a drink then the five second rule gives them five seconds' grace before their seat is claimed by someone else.
In some variations, a person vacating a seat may call "fives," giving them five minutes before the seat may be taken. If they have vacated the seat but forget to call fives, they are given five seconds to either invoke the rule or sit down again before the seat is considered able to be taken.
As with the food rule, the actual length of time used will vary. The most common times given are three and five seconds.
It is often considered that the person claiming the unoccupied seat has more "right" to it the longer they wait before sitting down. A person may stand guard in front of the seat for ten or fifteen seconds before sitting down, both ensuring that no-one steps in before them and that their claim cannot be disputed.
See also
References
External links
- [Article on experiment conducted by Jillian Clarke and Meredith Agle]
- [Another article on Clarke experiment]
- [ableGray.com Five Second Rule Put to the Test]
- [BBC article on bacteria levels in a typical office]
- [Q&A with Dr. Charles P. Gerba]
- [Urban Dictionary definitions of the 'three second rule' (both meanings)]
- [www.waff.com 's story on the 5 second rule experiment carried at the University of Illinois]
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