The five-second rule is the do-over of the culinary world.

You know the deal: food falls on the floor, but if you pick it within five seconds, it's still good to eat. Maybe you blow on it, maybe you flick off that hair that attached itself, maybe you shake your food to get it back to its pre-floor state.

Sadly, researchers at Rutgers University have disproven the five-second rule because food could be contaminated in as little as one second, although it should be noted that out of all surfaces tested carpeting is the most ideal one for less damage done to your cuisine.

The five-second rule has been an unofficial convenient excuse for not throwing out food or making yourself believe that germs can't possibly crawl onto your Snickers bar in the time it takes for you to bend over to pick it up, but science doesn't care about your dumb theories, so your best bet is to take that chunk of chocolate and toss it in the trash. Yeah, we know -- it's a waste of food and money and now you're going to haul yourself down to the nearest store for your chocolate fix.

So, all of this begs the question: will you ignore the facts and continue to employ the five-second rule or will you embrace this newfound knowledge?

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