Ok, wait...I'm confused now.

Is this thread about the myth that it takes 5-seconds for bacteria to get onto food (which I don't think anyone here has implied was false) or that eating something that fell on the floor isn't "safe"? The two are completely different issues.

Personally, I've never taken the "5-second rule" that literally. I've always looked at it as a joke - another way of saying "Oh well, no big deal" and picking something up that dropped on a moderately non-filthy surface. If anyone is saying that food can catch germs before those 5-seconds, I'm not disputing that.

However, I do think the danger is highly over-stated.

Quote Originally Posted by nitsuJ
I guess by the same standards you are all using, since it's probably not going to get really dirty on the floor, would you take a shot glass and put it into a flowing stream and drink that water? I don't really see why you wouldn't, because after all it's only a shot glass full of water, not like a lot of harmful bacteria will be in it! Just don't let water flow inside of it for more than 5 seconds. LOL!
Do you have any idea how much bacteria you ingest everyday? By the logic of "avoid it because it has bacteria on it," how sheltered would your life be? Did you know that the ice that comes out of soda fountains in even some of the cleanest fast-food chains in the planet have more bacteria than most toilet water? If you've gone all day doing God knows what, and then you realize you have a cut on your lip, do you rush to a sink to wash and sanitize your hands before stretching your lip in a mirror to investigate the wound? How often do you wash your hands after handling money?

The point is that bacteria is everywhere. There is no steering clear of it. 5-second-rule scenarios are never objective, because you are bound to pick up more germs doing everyday activities. I have no problem with someone saying they won't pick up something that's fallen on the floor and eat it because they just believe it to be nasty. That's all fine and good. But when people start touting the "dangers of germs" and "but it's got bacteria on it!" as if they are going to become noticeably infected with something because they picked up a potato chip that fell on their living room floor, I have to kind of roll my eyes at them.