If you work in the industry, the big question is: You dropped food on the floor, do you SERVE it? You might not want to know the answer.

If it was a raw steak, of course I'm gonna eat it, unless it landed in the toilet somehow. The heat will kill whatever germs were added to it. (And what am I doing with a raw steak in the bathroom, anyway?)

Always eat it...always.

This is a little wrong. The two "Eat it" boxes on the right hand branch should instead be an arrow to the "Was it sticky?" decision and continue from there.

If I were to follow this tree, I could eat some meekrob that I dropped onto a rug after my disease ridden cat licked it all over. but ONLY if someone else saw me do it who wasn't a boss/lawyer/parent. If I was alone I could not eat it.

Revenge = http://bit.ly/3PkwqH

this is a tree? wtf? lol good thing they didn't name it a decision pyramid

So, you should eat raw meat off of the floor, but only if somebody is watching?

Dude this is the coolest thing ever.

RT
www.web-privacy.pl.tc

it's not a 30 second rule...it's a three(3) second rule...

I say always eat it! It tastes so darn good!
Jen, e cig advocate.

i dont... whoops

Unless it becomes a disgusting mess or it's dropped on a restaurant floor, I ALWAYS eat it!! :)

Very lame.

James is right... is has always been the 3 second rule. If your reflexes are quick you don't need the chart.

Love that people take the time to write this stuff.... then we take the time to comment on it... and write more.... and...

You can only eat dropped food if you first conduct a sacred, complex, cleansing ritual. At the point, you can even eat puma bait :)

I think I will, most of the time!

I know a few people who would try eating the Emausaurus, even though they are not a Megalosaurus. In any case, this has been very helpful.

Thanks for the great laugh!

Now I want a cupcake. You should frame this for kitchens. I would buy one.

That's fantastic! Let's be honest, we all did it.

HAHA. fantastic. love it. have to blog it and share with the world now :-) i want to see more options. do another one — please! :-)

Hi,

Hats Off to the person who designed this tree!!! This is just too incredible.

I usually pick up a dropped chocolate and after cleaning it eat it. But picking up a cake with beautiful icing on it is an entirely different matter.

Well, depends where I drop the food. If it's an area where people walk, no way! Those shoes have been in bathrooms, and who knows what else they stepped on. If it's a table, like my own table, I'd eat it.

I can't even believe I stumbled on this? I thought about this same question the other day (no, didn't drop anything). Very humorous! :)

We did a flow chart like this back in 2008:

http://dissociatedpress.com/2008/12/i-dropped-food-on-the-floor-should-i-eat-it-flowchart/

but yours is much more clever and to the point.

I love this because you can easily get an an answer within the 5 second rule time frame. Just need to be sure it's posted wherever you drop your food. lol!

Love, love, love this handy chart!!

Of course, two factors are also at work here:

1. Is the food wet or dry? Germs, dog hair and yucky bits stick to wet food, but everybody knows you can just blow on a bit of dry food like bread or a cracker to clean it up, and

2. Is the food chocolate? In which case, the flow chart should show an immediate shortcut to YES! YES! YES!

Too funny.....

To Ian Gray - your 2008 flow chart is WONDERFUL! And I might add, equally clever. Could it have been the original inspiration for Andy & Audrey?!?!?!?

if it's a cake and i dropped it on the floor, in our own house, i would eat it. if it's not our house, i would never eat it. if it's in a restaurant, i would never really eat it.

There's nothing about the state of the floor. If the floor was cleaned within 3 days, eat it, 5 days, think about it, longer, toss it.

I always use the 30 second rule, but this chart is very helpful for those uncertain times. Thank you!

In general, I believe that:

At home? yes, always.

In a restaurant? Table or lap? Yes. Floor? Use the decision tree.

Everywhere else (car, picnic, friends home, etc): Use the decision tree.

LOL! :)

This is a funny FLOWCHART of what to do for those who can't think.

LOL!

Fabulous! I am guilty of the "Quick Pick"! Only if it's my own floor!

lol this is hilarious

If you're scared to eat it, that's a bad sign, because you've just suppressed your immune system! Not scared? Eat it.