10-second rule

[webofevil]

At a barbecue the other day someone dropped a burger. We were on a roof five storeys up and the decking the burger landed on had been rained on the day before. They retrieved it swiftly and wondered whether they should go ahead and eat it. An American guest said it would be fine as it had been gathered up in time so that it didn’t contravene the five-second rule. I said I thought it was a 10-second rule. He replied, “That’s because you guys had rationing during the war. Standards were more lax.”

Now pageantmalarkey has muddied the waters still further with her mention of a four-second rule. This is all too confusing and I demand that we settle this question once and for all.

NB - Surely we can all agree that food can remain on the floor for some length of time and still be safe to eat; the only question is how long. Ask any doctor. Well, maybe not any doctor.


[Poll #1238612]

Comments

[spyinthehaus.livejournal.com]

I suggest testing a similar hypothesis by putting wet paint on a surface, and then allowing one's hand to drop onto that surface. How long does the hand have to lie there before it gets paint on it?