Minecraft wiki entry for Item_(entity), associated text: Once an item entity's hitbox overlaps with the player's pickup box, it can transfer its items. As many items as can fit in the player inventory, excluding the armor slots and the off-hand slot, are transferred. If any item is transferred, a "plopping" sound is played. If all items are transferred, the items appear to move into the center of the player. The item entity never physically moves, however, which means it can appear to go through lava and blocks in its path. This can happen through blocks that are thinner than a full block, but also through the shared edge of two full blocks. Unlike experience orbs, multiple item entities can be picked up simultaneously. Dropped items have a delay of 10 ticks (half a second) between appearing and being able to be picked up, or 40 ticks (2 seconds) if thrown by a player, dolphin, or fox.