yeah I know you did not ask!
Everyone has heard of the “five second rule”, if a piece of food falls to the floor you have 5 seconds to pick it up before the germs attack it.
This morning I thought we need to modify this formula a wee bit. The length of time that is available to pick up the food item is directly proportional to the the perceived goodness of the food. To illustrate, a lima bean would be trash while it is still a foot from the floor. A chocolate chip cookie would still be good after resting 20 or 30 seconds on the same floor.
I suppose if will really wanted to be scientific about this we would need to add a couple variables to the equation. One takes into account the cleanliness of the floor. A kitchen floor immediately after mopping with ammonia water would be close to zero. A well trafficked floor in a third world bus station would be pushing 1. We would need another variable for the stickiness of the food. Our chocolate chip cookie would again be close to zero and a limp, damp, overcooked piece of asparagus would be pushing 1.
If you are OCD and really want to know what studies have been done on this, here is an article from WebMD: ‘5-Second Rule’ Rules, Sometimes
You need to also factor in the number of pets circulating through the space. Sometimes you have to fight them for the droppings.
Don’t forget the factor of wee dog running out in the wet yard and potentially through all manner of unmentionables. 😉