<P> The five - second rule, sometimes also the three - second rule, is a western cultural food hygiene concept, that states that there is a defined window where it is permissible to pick up food (or sometimes cutlery) after it has been dropped and thus exposed to contamination . Some may believe this assertion, whereas most people employ the rule as an amusing social fiction that allows them to eat a dropped piece of food, despite the potential reservations of their peers . How many and what type of bacteria would stick to a piece of dropped food depends on many factors, the food or the floor being wet or dry among them . There is also a social dimension as dropped food in a restaurant or when guests are around is simply unacceptable, but in a family or private situation it may be still tolerated . </P> <P> The origin of the five second rule seems to have cultivated at Doc's Hard Rock Cafe, in Moscow, Pennsylvania . Upon dropping a "cherry bomb" onto the bar floor, local conneusier Jason Powell declared 5 second rule before consuming the delicacy . </P> <P> The five - second rule has received some scholarly attention . It has been studied as both a public health recommendation and a sociological effect . </P>

Who came up with the 5 second rule