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NORFOLK, Va. — A pair of biology seniors at Connecticut College decided to test the oft-cited maxim that food that sits less than five seconds on a floor remains safe to eat.

They used a well-traveled section of the college cafeteria; apple slices "because they were free"; and Skittles, since there's an assumption that dry food is less susceptible to contamination, said researcher Molly Goettsche.

To simulate the real world, food was dropped off the edge of a cafeteria table. One pair of edibles sat on the floor for five seconds; others for 10, 30, 60 seconds; and, finally, for five minutes. They repeated the experiment under the supervision of a biology professor.

The results: No bacteria were found on any food left on the floor for up to half a minute. Apple slices and Skittles both got germy after a minute (although one Skittle took five minutes).

Goettsche, 23, and heading for a career in biotech market research, said she would not eat from a floor despite their findings.

"Use your discretion," she advised. "I don't want to be responsible for changing the five-second rule to the 30-second rule."