HEALTH

Supposedly, dropped food is relatively hygienic for about five seconds. Is there any truth to this supposed “rule”? (BBC)

Use our resources to better understand why the five-second rule is . . . misunderstood.

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit.

Discussion Ideas

• What is the “five-second rule”?
  • The five-second rule is an urban legend that contends it takes five seconds for food or utensils dropped on the floor or ground to become contaminated.

 

• “Scientifically speaking,” the BBC reminds us, “there is no five-second rule.” Why?
  • According to the BBC, “there is not a swarm of bacteria lying on the ground, waiting to pounce on any food that comes their way. Instead, they are already everywhere, even if you have just mopped the floor . . . At any one time, there are about 9,000 different species of microscopic creatures lurking in the dust in our homes, including 7,000 different bacteria.”
  • Bacteria and other microbes are not just around our houses, they’re on us. Watch this great video for an introduction to some of your biological houseguests.

 

• Where might coming into contact with microbes be very unsafe—where would you never want to obey the five-second rule? Use your common sense and the BBC article for some help.
  • doctor’s office, hospital, or other health-care facility
  • portable toilet
  • home, office, or classroom where someone is sick
  • area with poor sanitation facilities

 

• Where might coming into contact with microbes not be so harmful—where might you want to risk quickly rescuing dropped food? Disclaimer: All content provided in this post is for general information only. It should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health-care professional!
  • In many clean, dry places, contact with the microbial world can actually benefit us, because we have evolved with microbes all around us.
    • One expert says “If there are microbes on that piece of food, it could [therefore] contribute to the development of the healthy immune system. I say go ahead and eat it.”
    • Another expert thinks “even licking your floor or your toilet seat is unlikely to make you sick.”
  • Biologists and anthropologists who study our “gut microbes” like to remind us that “You don’t build an immune system by being a germophobe.”

 

TEACHERS’ TOOLKIT

BBC: What really happens to food when you drop it on the floor?

Nat Geo: Misunderstood Microbes video