Friday, April 18, 2008

The 5 Second Rule



I just found out yesterday that my kids have a "5 second rule" when they drop food on the floor. They learned it from their friends at school when they'd drop something on the floor of the lunchroom and then hurry to pick it up before five seconds so they could still eat it. I don't buy it. I never did.

Floors carry the germs/bacteria brought in on your shoes wherever you were that day. Did you walk through the bathroom? What kind of bacteria do you think are on the bottom of your feet/shoes with that trip? Did you run around the backyard? How about that trip to the mall where everybody else has walked with all their various germs coming with them? How about all the people sneezing and coughing? Do you think their germs have hit the floor? Of course! That's just people. How about the germs your dog is tracking in from the backyard? I don't think the dog is avoiding more of his own "bathroom" germs wherever he steps, do you? Let's talk about walking barefoot and people who have athlete's foot. How about a little fungus with your food? Gross!!

That's my opinion of the "5 second rule" and I'm sticking to it. I find it disgusting.

8 comments:

Anonymous,  April 18, 2008 at 7:04 PM  

Hi Syn ;-)

I practiced the so-called "5 second rule" and "Kiss it up to God Rule" when I was around 5 years young, too.

It's 100% wrong, and I agree that parents such as yourself should strictly enforce the "if it drops, it goes in the garbage rule".

Anonymous,  April 18, 2008 at 9:32 PM  

The Mythbusters totally busted this myth but even that didn't stop me from practicing it. Actually, I call it "The 10 Second Rule" so I'm 5 seconds more disgusting than your kids.

Unbalanced Libra April 18, 2008 at 9:54 PM  

What if the dog licks it first????

Unknown April 18, 2008 at 10:05 PM  

I'm more of a 10 minute rule kind of guy.

Syn April 18, 2008 at 10:28 PM  

I've never heard of the "Kiss it up to God Rule". What is that? Kiss it and pray to god there are no germs on it?

I can enforce it in my home (well, only if I catch them before they can swoop down and shove it into their mouths) but at school, my wrath doesn't reach that far:)

Syn April 18, 2008 at 10:29 PM  

Buikhu, yes you have five seconds on my kids. I'm not going to tell them that though. I don't want to encourage them any because it wouldn't take much. Well, depending on what it was they dropped. Candy? They'd grab it. Green bean - they'd leave it and hope the dog ate it for them.

Syn April 18, 2008 at 10:31 PM  

Lisa,

If the dog licks it first and my kids still eat it, mom would yak;) Dogs lick their butts! Heck, dogs lick other dogs' butts. LOL.

Syn April 18, 2008 at 10:32 PM  

10 minutes? So does that mean you won't jump down and grab it but wait until the meal on your plate is finished to check the floor for goodies if you're still hungry? LOL.

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