Otherwise known as the "Five Second Rule", this myth has been circling English speaking countries for decades.
But is it true?
Does it even make sense?
Actually, how do I put this,
Logically, this idea is absolutely false, a lie, NOT TRUE whatsoever. The moment food hits the ground, bacteria or "germs" as shown in the first image don't wait for 5 seconds. Why would they? Of course, there are variables. For example, food falling on the floor of a public restroom will likely pick up more than maybe if it fell on the floor of your bedroom or a hospital. Then there's also the food itself. If it is wet, it will pick up more bacteria than something dry like a cracker. Plus, not all bacteria is "bad". In fact, some bacteria exist inside you to help with digestion and to fight the "bad" bacteria. Even so, you have no way of knowing whether the bacteria the food comes into contact with is "good" or "bad" unless you are a Mythbuster (or scientist) and have access to equipment to check. So why risk it? It isn't worth getting sick for, just find a replacement for that slice of pizza (or whatever fell) and eat "bad" germ free.
By the way, the Mythbusters actually busted this myth themselves as a mini-myth. Wanna see their results?
Interesting!
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