5-Second Rule

The 5-Second Rule: Does It Work?

You know the rule: If food falls on the floor, pick it up within five seconds and you can eat it. Whatever germs are on the floor don't have time to adhere to the food that quickly. Or do they? A recent national survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by Kelton Research found that nearly 60 percent of Americans admit to eating food that has fallen on the floor. Would they continue doing that if they knew a typical home carpet has up to 4,000 times more bacteria particles--even after vacuuming--than toilet seats?

This is disgusting--and scary. Find out the top three hotbeds for germs in your home.

This is the total number of bacteria particles found on one-inch square samples of different household surfaces. The independent tests were conducted by Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona:
-- Toilet seat: 49
-- Kitchen counter: 1,686
-- Kitchen tile: 2,546
-- Bathroom floor: 18,025
-- Carpet: more than 200,000

Ew! Look what is on grocery carts.

Why is the floor--the kitchen tile, the living room hardwood and the family room carpet--so dirty? Blame your shoes. Gerba found more than 400,000 units of bacteria inside and outside shoes, including the worst kind of all: E. coli. "If you think about the places you walk, this makes sense," Gerba told Babies Today. "Public restrooms, for example, are a prime source for fecal matter. You also pick up viruses on your shoes, and so when you walk around you leave a trail of virus and bacteria. You're also probably picking up food as well, making your shoe a Happy Meal for germs." He warns that kids can definitely get sick from the germs tracked into the house, although being exposed to germs is a natural part of living.

Gross! Find out the dirtiest part of your car. This is so disgusting you might want to wipe it down before you drive it again.

Does the 5-second rule work? No. Eat that cookie that falls on the floor, and you could also be ingesting a frosting of E. coli.

(Reprinted from AOL News)