five second rule
Floor food deadline
The five second rule is the popular belief that food dropped on the floor remains safe to eat if retrieved within five seconds: Five second rule—it's still good!
The rule has no scientific basis; bacteria transfer instantly on contact.
The phrase sometimes extends to other quick recoveries from minor mishaps.
- droppedLet fall downward
- floorIndoor walking surface
- foodConsumable nourishment source
- germsMicroscopic disease agents
- bacteriaNucleus-free single-celled organisms
germ transfer · pickup · quick save · eat · quick · gross · safe · snack · cookie · rescue · dust · carpet · kitchen · grab · hesitation · contamination · food safety · myth
- food myths
- food safety mythsdouble dipping, expiration dates, raw eggs
- mythsmyth, legend, fable, fairy tale, folk tale
- declutteringdecluttering, organizing, donating, purging, discarding
- social normsnorms, greeting, mores, handshake, custom
five second rulegermaphobia
Pathological fear of contamination
throw it away · better safe than sorry · abundance of caution · sanitary standards
five second ruleevidence-based practice
Methods backed by research
scientific consensus · germ theory · empirical research · microbiology · empirical evidence
five, second, rule, fives, seconds, secondly, secondary, secondarily, rules