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A buddy told me to ignore the 5 second rule for food that dropped on carpet | Ethics in the Wild - Thought Shares

A buddy told me to ignore the 5 second rule for food that dropped on carpet

My friend Dave said the 5 second rule was just something people made up to feel better about eating dirty food. He claimed carpet was actually cleaner than tile or wood floors because it traps the dirt away from the surface. Last month I dropped a piece of toast on my living room carpet and figured I'd test his theory. I left it there for a full minute before picking it up and eating it. Two days later I was stuck in bed with a nasty case of food poisoning that cost me 60 bucks in doctor copay. Dave's advice turned out to be completely wrong and I should have just thrown that toast away. Has anyone else gotten sick from eating food off what looked like a clean floor?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_mary5mo ago

That line about carpet being cleaner because it "traps dirt away from the surface" is exactly the kind of logic people use to justify all sorts of bad habits... Like how folks swear laundry stays fresher if you leave it in the dryer until you remember it, or that a dirty dish is fine to use again as long as you rinse it with hot water. I've noticed we all have this way of convincing ourselves things are cleaner or safer than they really are because it's just easier to believe that. Your poor toast story is a solid reminder that our brains will bend over backwards to avoid throwing away a perfectly good snack, even when it's been sitting on the floor for a full minute. Maybe the real lesson here isn't about carpet vs tile, it's that we should trust our gut when it says "nah, that's gross" instead of listening to a friend's weird theories

ellis.faith5mo ago

Mary you're right but that laundry thing is actually a myth since mold can grow in damp clothes left in the dryer.

parkerbrown5mo ago

Wait people actually believe that laundry thing? @ellis.faith I thought we all just joked about forgetting clothes in the dryer, not that anyone thought it was a legit strategy for keeping stuff fresh. That's wild to me because I've definitely pulled out a load that sat overnight and it smelled like a wet dog had been sleeping in there. My grandma used to say the same thing about leaving dishes in the sink with hot water killing germs, but that's just not how bacteria work. Honestly I'm starting to think half the "cleaning tips" people pass around are just excuses to be lazy.