The 5 second rule is mostly a joke. However, I have seem other studies that claim it to be valid. Something about how long it takes for various nasties to actually latch on.

Not endorsing the rule, just saying that some scientests support it.

 

He was a great dad and I miss him a lot but he never was one to go to the doctor nor did he feel the need to send us. When I was a little kid and got a cold, my grandmother used to fix up her own "home remedy"....geez it's a wonder I wasn't an 8 year old alcoholic.

 

I myself wont go to a doctor unless i cut something off

 

For me, it's a case-by-case thing. Dry food dropped onto a hard, dry surface gets the most time, and it's a lot more than 5 seconds (but it has to stay in sight). If there are a bunch of people standing around with muddy shoes and you drop something with sauce on it...not so much. I've eaten a bunch of crazy stuff in several foreign countries that would probably give most health inspectors a heart attack.

My mom taught nursing for a while before I was born. We didn't go to the doctor for much of anything. I go even less now, nor am I likely to run my kids there.

Jason

 

Not to be a downer, and the first-aid stories are amusing, but one must be very careful of infection these days. There are nastier bugs in the world now than there were even 30 years ago and it is not hard to pick up a wicked infection around the farm or home.
I scraped knuckles working in my shop a couple of years ago and "tough-guyed" it out and just wiped the blood away and kept working. 3 days later I was in the docs office because my whole hand was swollen and hurt so bad I couldn't move it. A heavy course of antibiotics and a trip to the infectious disease specialist to make sure the infection didn't get into the bone and I was on the way to full recovery. But it easily could have been a lot worse.
Not saying you have to go to the doctor every time. Just use common sense: wash liberally with soap and hot water, cover with clean bandage and keep a very close eye out for any signs of infection. I don't think it is wise to slather Neosporin, etc. on every little cut or scrape, but if the wound has any significant depth or length to it, it is probably a good precaution to apply some additional anti-bacterial topical ointment.
I was a bit embarrassed to admit my own poor treatment of what I thought (and previous experience had shown) to be a very minor injury. Learned a good lesson.

 

Being a retired Food Service Specialist from the CG, I've had the pleasure of attending countless schools concerning bacteria, vermin, the effects of poor sanitation and poor work habits by food service workers and I've seen some stuff that would turn your stomach.

Now, growing up a poor country boy from Maine and being surrounded by people who never left the state, I have to pull back on the reigns a little when I see something that isn't up to military standard and just keep my mouth shut.

IMHO, if your food didn't drop in any type waste material or a hazardous chemical, I think one would be ok.

Tim

 

I like that scene in the early 80s mini-series 'Blue and the Gray' where they're in camp having cockroach races on their mess tins..........

I read somewhere that for every Johnny Reb or Billy Yank that dropped from a bullet or bayonet or artillery round, two dropped from diseases like dysentery or typhus.........

 

I've always used the rule "If it hits the floor, it's going in the garbage."

I'm actually more of a dirtophobe than a germophobe. If something touches the floor I can usually just imagine how much dirt and gunk is on it. blech!

My brother has dropped ice cream on the floor before and picked it up and ate it...no way I would do that.

 

Well....How about a couple of spoonfuls off of the top of the spilled ice cream that didn't actually touch the floor?

 

Or, if a fly or two is on it for more than 5 seconds.....

 

We should all think back to some of the things we've eaten while under the influence of an adult malt beverage or a stronger type of libation.

Tim

 

No, we should all NOT!

Some things are better left........'unthought'........

 

Tim... there are some things that I would rather just forget.

 

I ate an uncooked pizza after alot of drinking

 

Heck, we go by the one day rule here. If its still on the floor after a day and the dog hasn't eaten it, then it probably shouldn't be eaten.