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Michael In our series "well-known American rules for children that no one knows in Germany," today: the Five-Second Rule. If something edible, like a piece of chocolate, falls on the floor, the clock starts ticking: If you manage to retrieve the fallen piece within five seconds, it can be eaten without worry. If more than five seconds pass, it must go in the trash. The idea behind this is obvious: the good piece allegedly cannot accumulate enough bacteria within five seconds to be harmful to your health.
In the TV show Mythbusters (Rundbrief 03/2004), which we have already discussed in a previous newsletter edition and which is now even featured on German television on RTL2, this rule was once scientifically examined. However, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman found with bacterial cultures in test tubes that it makes no difference whether an item lies on the ground for five seconds or longer. The number of accumulated bacteria is approximately the same in both cases. Nevertheless, the five-second rule is used by many children and even some adults. Bon appetit! And even Wikipedia knows about the five-second rule. It even says there that there is a German proverb 'Dreck macht Speck!' which they claim means something similar. Ridiculous! And also according to Wikipedia, in the dormitories of American universities, the '10-Second Rule' applies to the constantly drunk and therefore slower-reacting students -- you guessed it.
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