The Real Deal On The Five Second Rule

Who hasn't done this: You drop a piece of food on the floor, pick it up within five seconds and pop it in your mouth. It's still okay to eat, right? Not exactly. According to a recent survey, women are more likely to invoke the "Five Second Rule" than men. Not surprisingly, everyone's more inclined to eat a dropped cookie than a dropped piece of broccoli. But is it really okay to eat something you dropped on the floor? Well, there are a few schools of thoughts on this.

First, at the University of Illinois, floor tiles were purposely contaminated with E.coli. Then researchers placed cookies and gummi bears on the tiles for anywhere between one and ten seconds. The upshot was: Almost-instant food-poisoning.

But a new study was done at the University Chicago and University of Iowa. Researchers tossed gum, cookies, chicken legs and hot dogs on different types of floors. They found the safest surface is the kitchen floor. Only the hotdog was contaminated enough in five seconds to make you sick. The living room carpet isn't quite as clean. Both the hot dog and the chicken leg were contaminated within five seconds. And basically, anything you drop on the bathroom floor or the lawn is a germ-freak's nightmare. Every item that fell on those surfaces was contaminated enough to make you really sick.

Want to know who the first person was to invoke the Five Second Rule? Experts say it was Genghis Khan, but he used a "20 Hour Rule." And anything that had been lying in the dirt for less than 20 hours was still safe to eat. So if you drop a cookie on the kitchen floor, go ahead and eat it within five seconds. Chances are good you won't get sick. But if you're at a picnic and drop any food on the grass, toss it out!

5 Tips To Burglar-Proof Your House

 

Too many break-ins are preventable. So here’s what you need to know about protecting your home from thieves:  

• First, know that summer is prime time for burglaries. They spike in July, August, and Labor Day Weekend when people are more likely to be on vacation. But that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down other times of the year. December and January are also big months for burglaries. That’s when thieves pick through your recycling bin to see if there are any boxes for new electronics in there. So don’t put the packaging for new electronics in the bin until right before curbside pickup on trash day.  

• Another tip to avoid break-ins: Don’t leave lights on 24/7 or leave the radio playing constantly. That actually alerts thieves that you’re away. Instead, use a timer that turns things on at certain times.  

• A good way to burglar-proof your house is to add shrubs in front of windows, but only about three or four feet high. That’s high enough to make getting close to a window difficult, but short enough so a thief can’t hide behind them.  

• A burglar alarm is a great deterrent, even if it’s not connected to the police department. A loud alarm is enough to scare thieves away. And home improvement stores typically carry cheap alarms, like around $10, you can affix to a window or door.  

• Lastly, your dead-bolt on the front door is a safe option. Just make sure the plates that attach the lock to the door have three-inch screws. Typically, they’re installed with one-inch screws, which makes the door easy to kick in.