PSA: My buddy swore the "5 second rule" was real and I caught pink eye from his floor pizza

My friend Dave told me last month that bacteria can't latch onto food in under 5 seconds. He said it with such confidence I actually believed him. Well I dropped a slice of pepperoni on his kitchen floor that looked clean enough and ate it. 3 days later my eye was crusted shut and the doctor confirmed it was conjunctivitis from some floor gunk. Dave laughed and said I just got unlucky but the nurse straight up said the 5 second rule is total bogus. Has anyone else gotten sick from trusting that dumb rule or is my friend just a bad influence?

2 comments

2 Comments

simonp4025d ago

so I had a buddy in college who used to swear by the "5 second rule" like it was gospel. he dropped a hot dog on the dorm carpet once and picked it up in like 2 seconds and ate it. next day he was puking his guts out and missed a midterm. the thing is that floor looked clean but who knows what was on it. I told him it was his own fault but he still insists the rule works he just got a bad hot dog. I mean come on man. your friend Dave sounds like the type who would convince you that eating dirt builds up your immune system or something. I think the nurse probably sees a lot of people with the same story honestly. floor pizza is never worth the risk no matter how many seconds you count.

sethanderson25d ago

My own stupid moment with the 5 second rule involved a jelly doughnut I dropped on a gas station floor about ten years back. I picked it up in maybe 3 seconds, brushed off a piece of gravel, and ate it. Two hours later I was stuck in a bathroom stall for what felt like an eternity, regretting every life choice that led me to that moment. I still can't look at a jelly doughnut without feeling a little queasy. So yeah, I think your friend Dave and my own bad judgment are cut from the same cloth. Floor pizza is a gamble nobody should take, and I learned that lesson the hard way.