Why does it take so long for someone to take the last food item?

They don’t want to clean the empty plate, and/or the person who takes the last item looses his or her anonymity and they don’t want anyone to know how much they’re overeating.

I’m with SirBailey.. I think people think it’s impolite to take the last piece, so they leave it for someone else. Then, after it’s sat there for long enough to where it’s obvious no one else is going to eat it, someone will be bold enough to finish it off.

Many people consider what they anticipate their ideas of the thoughts and feelings of others, and decide what to do including that. How much a person does this varies from person to person, sometimes to extremes. People not taking the last food item are probably doing that, though their specific thoughts may vary (e.g. “I don’t want to look selfish to Bob and Doug by taking the last one.” or “Someone else probably wants the last one – I wouldn’t want to keep it from them.”)

Plus you can never be sure that everyone got one. You worry that someone is going to yell “Hey! I didn’t get any yet!!!” and you’ll be embarassed.

If I want it, I never hesitate.

No offense guys, but I think you’re over analyzing it and the most common reason is to not look like the group glutton.

Because their mothers taught them not to take the last one because it makes you look greedy.

Because he’s at the end of the serving line?

I find interesting the notion that taking the last one makes you appear greedy. Assuming that you have not had any before, why should you feel guilty for doing what everyone before you has done? And how much worse is taking the last one than taking the second or third to the last? There is some interesting psychology going on here.

Around our house it’s because you may get stabbed with a fork by the three other people going for it.

The last one won’t be as fresh or tasty as the earlier ones were.
Maybe someone already tried that one and didn’t like it.
Maybe someone hasn’t had any yet, so we don’t want to cheat them out of it.
We don’t want to look greedy.
There must be something wrong with it.

If I’m hungry, I’m going for the last item and without much regard for how long it has been sitting there. Maybe not the best idea but what the stomach wants, the stomach gets.

I’m not a greedy person by nature, just perpetually famished it seems.

@Blondesjon sounds like a story my dad used to tell

This explains the last two ounces of juice in the fridge, and the handful of crumbled chips still in the bottom of the bag.

@evelyns_pet_zebra – I think that’s more of a case of not wanting to have to deal with the empty packaging. My ex would open a new bottle of soda or milk or whatever, if there was less than a full serving remaining in the open one. This way, she never had to walk the few steps to the garbage and throw it away. Drove me absolutely nuts.

@AlenaD – Is your ex related to my son? He does that.

@AlenaD @Darwin My Hubby does the same thing, and he also will not take the last ice cube, because whoever does that has to refill the ice cube tray. Grrrrrrrrr

I don’t think eating the last piece of food is such a big deal for Americans. A lot of my friends are people from other countries, and it seems like especially in Asian cultures, people just don’t want to take the last piece. A lot of times if I’m eating in a group with people, we’ll go around offering it to each other- “you take it,” “no, please, you go ahead.” It seems like it’s out of consideration for the other people you’re eating with- someone else might really want that food more than you. I think it’s nice. Usually in the end, it gets eaten somehow, even if people split it.

Other instances of not eating the last food are kind of annoying. Like when your roommate eats all your cereal except for a few bites, but they don’t replace it, because they didn’t eat all of it. Jerks.