🔬 Science 1d ago · Eric Alt

The 5-Second Rule is scientifically false

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The 5-Second Rule is scientifically false
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Since elementary school, we’ve all been taught the “5-Second Rule.” The idea is simple: Food dropped on the floor is still perfectly edible if retrieved in under five seconds. The logic behind the theory, such as it is, is that germs and dirt and pet dander are somehow caught by surprise by the sudden arrival of food and need a few seconds to get their bearings. If you snatch the food up quick enough, they won’t have time to get it “dirty.”



Even as kids, we were skeptical but admit it–you sti

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