If you’re curious whether or not you should be indulging in the communal cheese dip at this year’s Super Bowl party, one scientist has some answers for you.

Whether or not the infamous George Costanza “double-dipping at a funeral scene” had an impact on your snacking habits, according to this terrific NY Times piece, the clip definitely affected Prof. Paul L. Dawson. A food microbiologist at Clemson University, Dawson commissioned a study on double-dipping largely because he was skeptical that redipping a chip could be bad for you. The results surprised him.

According to the study, “three to six double dips transferred about 10,000 bacteria from the eater’s mouth to the remaining dip.” Dawson’s conclusion: that while double dipping won’t kill you, you should take a look around the room before bathing your tortilla in party sauce. Said Dawson, “The way I would put it is, before you have some dip at a party, look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here? Because you don’t know who might be double dipping, and those who do are sharing their saliva with you.”
So, beware readers. If you want to see more on the study, or Dawson’s other Seinfeld related insights, click here. Thanks Lizzie!