-It is the test used by many households to determine whether food dropped on the floor is safe to eat.
But the 'five second rule' - namely if you pick something up very quickly it can still be consumed - is now in serious doubt.
In a boon for parents and clumsy cooks everywhere, a scientific study has found the five seconds guideline could be vastly extended to half an hour.
There is no real rush to pick up a piece of toast or biscuit which has slipped out of your fingers, as these 'rigid' foods will not pick up more bacteria while they are lying there.
If social embarrassment or a dislike of fluff and pet hairs don't put you off, you could eat them after 30 minutes with little increased risk of germs, the study found.
Researchers at Aston University in Birmingham found, however, that the five-second rule is still the best advice for sweets and pasta.
The longer they stay on hard floors, the more bugs their surfaces pull in.
They tested the theory using different foods on carpet, linoleum and tiles containing 10 million bacteria.
On carpet, it made no difference how long food was left on the floor, the researchers discovered by measuring bacteria levels after three and 30 seconds.
But for those who drop food on a kitchen floor made from laminate or tile, the findings show...
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