http://www.sogoodblog.com/2008/01/30/did-you-just-double-dip-that-chip/
Any Seinfeld fan probably remembers that line, when “Timmy” accused George Costanza of double dipping. “Timmy” complained, “that’s like putting your whole mouth right in the dip.” Now a new study conducted by Clemson University has measured just how much bacteria double dipping can actually transfer into the dip bowl. The answer - a lot.
According to the NY Times:
Any Seinfeld fan probably remembers that line, when “Timmy” accused George Costanza of double dipping. “Timmy” complained, “that’s like putting your whole mouth right in the dip.” Now a new study conducted by Clemson University has measured just how much bacteria double dipping can actually transfer into the dip bowl. The answer - a lot.
According to the NY Times:
“A team of nine students instructed volunteers to take a bite of a wheat cracker and dip the cracker for three seconds into about a tablespoon of a test dip. They then repeated the process with new crackers, for a total of either three or six double dips per dip sample. The team then analyzed the remaining dip and counted the number of aerobic bacteria in it.”
Despite George’s dismissal of the idea that double dipping could transfer bacteria, the results of the study show otherwise:
“On average, the students found that three to six double dips transferred about 10,000 bacteria from the eater’s mouth to the remaining dip. Each cracker picked up between one and two grams of dip. That means that sporadic double dipping in a cup of dip would transfer at least 50 to 100 bacteria from one mouth to another with every bite.”
Something to consider before you double dip that chip at this weekend’s Super Bowl party.
