Well, I'll bet that kid's sick all the time...

[Despina83]

I scan a small bag of licorice and the girl hands one to her son, about two years old, who's sitting in the cart. He promptly drops it in the cart. She looks around the cart for it before realizing that it's fallen through to the floor. She finally spots it, picks it up, and gives it to the kid warning him not to drop it again. He starts sucking away happily on it. Er...maybe it's just me, but I don't think feeding your kid food off of the filthy store floor is the best of ideas. Seems like a good way to catch a cold to me. I mean, everybody and their brother walks through there all day long.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

So I take it the bag was on the floor for more than 10 seconds?

[myswtghst]

So I take it the bag was on the floor for more than 10 seconds?

I only do the 5/10 second rule business in places where I'm familiar with the floor, and know it to be relatively sanitary. Not in public places. Strangers are gross.

[Broomjockey]

Actually, the kid probably has a better immune system for all that. The only time I don't do the 5/10 rule is if it is carpeted, or obviously dirty enough that particles are clinging to the food. I can handle germs (which take a few seconds to migrate to a new surface, hence the basis of the rule), but fuzzies etc.? No thank you.

[CiggyStoreClerk]

Hi all! I'm new!
No worries though, I will have PLENTY of stories to share with everybody

Actually, the kid probably has a better immune system for all that. The only time I don't do the 5/10 rule is if it is carpeted, or obviously dirty enough that particles are clinging to the food. I can handle germs (which take a few seconds to migrate to a new surface, hence the basis of the rule), but fuzzies etc.? No thank you.

Exactly what I was going to say!
I do that all the time.
I follow the 5/10 second rule, then blow on the food to get rid of any dust that might've gotten on there and pop it in my mouth.
Great fun.

[ArcticChicken]

That's nothing. There was a kid a few months ago who was licking my register.

[Spiffy McMoron]

Concidering all of the stories I hear about kids eating worms, flies, dirt, and coins, this is probably an improvement on what he would eat!

[Record Store Tough Guy]

The 3 second rule has been somewhat disproven by a study of some kind which found contamination is immediate upon contact depending on the food item and microbe, but yes, the kid' immune system will probably be Schwarzeneggerian by the time he's an adult. Our immune systems are designed to be constantly fighting off all kinds of nasties: bacteria, parasites, etc., but due to the hyper sterile anti-bacterial society we live in, the only thing it has to attack is ourselves, resulting in higher allergy rates.

There was an article on the Consumerist recently where a doctor pretty much said that the reason why Americans have such a high allergy rate is because we don't eat enough dirt as a child.

I mean, they always tell us not to drink the water overseas, but what do the locals drink?

[Gawdzillers]

That's nothing. There was a kid a few months ago who was licking my register.

/thread.

[Dreamstalker]

There was an article on the Consumerist recently where a doctor pretty much said that the reason why Americans have such a high allergy rate is because we don't eat enough dirt as a child.

Exactly. I was putting lots of odd stuff in my mouth as a wolflet...dirt, grass, leaves, etc and didn't die from it obviously. I think the only times I've been really sick were both food-related (bad burrito in MA, probably overspiced to hide the bad whatever-it-was, and just-this-side-of-spoiled green chile in NM).

By contrast, my 10-y-o cousins seem to have every allergy and food issue under the sun. Including a transient peanut allergy...how can you be allergic one month and fine the next?

[Geek King]

There was an article on the Consumerist recently where a doctor pretty much said that the reason why Americans have such a high allergy rate is because we don't eat enough dirt as a child.

Well, both true and false. There are certain stages of development where over-exposure can actually increase the chance of allergies developing. Please, check with a doctor before taking Junior out and rubbing him in the dirt and grass.

[Seshat]

Including a transient peanut allergy...how can you be allergic one month and fine the next?

Antihistamines?

[Record Store Tough Guy]

@ Geek King:

Yeah, there's probably a happy medium in there somewhere.

[marasbaras]

Seems like everything these days is anti-bacterial. Pretty soon, humans are going to be so prone to getting little bugs that we'll die off from the common cold.

[Jbball]

Gross.

I'm the proud parent of a 9 month old little boy, and I saw the most ignorant thing ever, well, in my viewpoint it was pretty bad.

We're in Wally World buying formula, when this lady strolls by with, what looks to be a 1 year old, feeding him a sausage biscuit from the attached McDonalds. I wanted to drop kick her in the back for feeding her innocent child such HORRIBLE food.