Five-Second Rule: Depends Where and When

Yes, the five-second rule does apply but no, it does not guarantee your safety. Scientists at Clemson University actually studied this rule: "Their bacterium of choice was salmonella; the test surfaces were tile, wood flooring and nylon carpet; and the test foods were slices of bread and bologna." No germs on you?

clipped from www.nytimes.com Of course we can never know for sure how many harmful microbes there are on any surface. But we know enough now to formulate the five-second rule, version 2.0: If you drop a piece of food, pick it up quickly, take five seconds to recall that just a few bacteria can make you sick, then take a few more to think about where you dropped it and whether or not it’s worth eating.