How Bad Is It…To crack

how bad is it …

Straight answers to scratch-your-head questions.

After the buffet, put me away!

…to let the Thanksgiving meal sit out all afternoon?

Everybody loves to graze leisurely on leftovers— especially bacteria. Keep your holiday spread lingering at room temperature for just a few hours and microbes will multiply faster than the deals on Black Friday. Debra Botzek-Linn, associate professor at the University of Minnesota Extension in St. Cloud, MN, says you should refrigerate the remnants of your Turkey Day feast within two hours. Then make sure you gobble up the leftovers within four days, tops. super bad!

…to crack your knuckles?

It’ll make a squeamish person within earshot cringe, but cracking your knuckles is harmless. “It’s not linked to any short- or long-term damage,” says James Monica, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon in Princeton, NJ. The cause of the pop noise? Chalk it up to the laws of physics and synovial fluid, the joint lubricant that prevents bones within a joint from scraping together. Manipulate your fingers just so and the volume of the space between the bones increases. That creates negative pressure, a mini vacuum, and the formation of gas bubbles—as well as that distinctive knucklecracking sound. not bad at all!

c ra c k !

…to leave on hair dye longer than the label says?

Don’t stress about your tresses. The chemicals in permanent and semipermanent dyes cause very little damage to your hair, according to James Corbett, color director at Clairol. The reason: Most at-home color kits have a builtin fail-safe. The two chemicals involved in dyeing—peroxide and ammonia—go inert after they’ve done their job. No matter how long they’re on your locks, “nothing dramatic will happen,” says Corbett. The exception: highlighting kits that contain bleach, which keeps lightening— and damaging—your hair until it’s washed out. not bad at all!