DAILY DIRT: The results say pumpkin pie from Illinois is No. 1

Pecan pie is no treat, either. Can’t we all just have apple pie? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,061 of The Daily Dirt

Well, I couldn’t disagree more, but the people have spoken.

Illinois’ pumpkin pie has been voted the nation’s favorite fall dish, according to a nationwide survey coordinated by wealthofgeeks.com. Illinois voters apparently stuffed the ballot box, which is the only way I can fathom pumpkin pie beating out other such high finishers as chili and pumpkin bread. (For the record, pumpkin bread is exquisite. Pumpkin pie is not.)

“In Illinois, the classic pumpkin pie takes center stage, a sweet symbol of the state’s bountiful pumpkin harvest,” we are told.

Whatever.

Here were the top 10 findings:

• 1. Illinois pumpkin pie.
• 2. Texas chili
• 3. Alabama pecan pie
• 4. Louisiana gumbo
• 5. Kansas pumpkin bread
• 6. New York apple cider and doughnuts
• 7. Georgia sweet potato pie
• 8. Arkansas chicken and dumplings
• 9. Kentucky bourbon and pecan pie
• 10. Utah funeral potatoes

2. Did you know (Part 124)

• That Americans consume 50 million pumpkin pies each year. Forty million of those are eaten on Thanksgiving alone.
• That every broken clock shows the correct time twice a day.
• That brown eggs are not healthier than white eggs. There is no nutritional difference in the two. The color of eggs is due largely to the breed of the hen.
• That Chuck Norris can whistle — in sign language.
• That when you wait for the waiter, you became a waiter.

3. You know that “five-second rule” a lot of people call out when they drop a food item on the floor? 

It’s 100 percent false. 

If you drop a piece of food on the floor, there is no grace period before germs will attach to that object. Bacteria can transfer to food almost instantly upon contact with a contaminated surface. 

The ultimate bottom line? Eating food off the floor is just nasty. Don’t do it.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Why is it called a shipment when transported by a car, but called cargo when transported by a ship? Or why do we cook bacon and bake cookies?

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. When in Kentucky, I recommend the Bourbon and skipping the pecan pie.