Just hearing the word "pizza" brings a smile to the face of just about every American. Whatever style or variety -- from thick, Chicago-style deep-dish pizza stuffed with gobs of cheese, sausage, and pepperoni to a thin-as-a-cracker crust topped with veggies -- pizza invariably makes it to the top of "favorite food" lists. Here, we've compiled a list of fun and interesting facts about this American food icon. See how many you knew! Pizza is one of the most popular foods in the United States. 1. Since 1987, October has been officially designated National Pizza Month in the United States. 2. Approximately three billion pizzas are sold in the United States every year, plus an additional one billion frozen pizzas. 3. Pizza is a $30 billion industry in the United States. 4. Pizzerias represent 17 percent of all U.S. restaurants. 5. Ninety-three percent of Americans eat pizza at least once a month. 6. Women are twice as likely as men to order vegetarian toppings on their pizza. 7. About 36 percent of all pizzas contain pepperoni, making it the most popular topping in the United States. 8. The first known pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria, opened in Naples, Italy, in 1738. 9. More pizza is consumed during the week of the Super Bowl than any other time of the year. 10. On average, each person in the United States eats around 23 pounds of pizza every year. 11. The first pizzeria in the United States was opened by Gennaro Lombardi in 1895 in New York City. 12. The record for the world's largest pizza depends on how you slice it. According to Guinness World Records, the record for the world's largest circular pizza was set at Norwood Hypermarket in South Africa in 1990. The gigantic pie measured 122 feet 8 inches across, weighed 26,883 pounds, and contained 9,920 pounds of flour, 3,968 pounds of cheese, and 1,984 pounds of sauce. In 2005, the record for the world's largest rectangular pizza was set in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Pizza restaurant owner Bill Bahr and a team of 200 helpers created the 129 X 98.6-foot pizza from 4,000 pounds of cheese, 700 pounds of sauce, and 9,500 sections of crust. The enormous pie was enough to feed the town's 5,200 residents ten slices of pizza each.
With number 6, I am not a vegetarian. I love meat! My ex friend was a vegetarian and she was just too serious!
Expensive and yucky.... I have that here but never go because I think they are way to expensive. Local pizza places are way better
I watched the history channel special on pizza a few weeks ago and this info was in there. Some more interesting stuff that I can remember is.. UNO's is the first deep dish pizza (also started in Chicago) The owners of pizza hut rarely ate pizza before they started their business and didnt really like it. It was named pizza hut because they can only fit the would pizza and 3 letters on their building so they choose hut. Dominos (which was known by a different name then) started the delivery service. The reason pizza took off in the US was because of US Soldiers returning from Italy and were craving pizza.
I just remembered something. Here in my city there was a pizza place started by two Italian chaps. They had these big pizzas that were enough to feed to people no problem. Those were some of the nicest pizzas I've eaten in my entire life. LOL I also saw that documentary a few weeks ago
Try celery on your pizza. It sounds gross but it's awesome. Last time I was in Minneapolis, I went to the Leaning Tower of Pizza and got their specialty pizza - "The Potter Pizza" it includes your pizza standards: sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and olives and celery. It's been my favourite pizza since
I am reading this while eating a slice of pizza. Pizza hut is ok but a little on the greasy side. I prefer my pizza made by a little old italian lady at this place in little italy where I live.
Here in Portugal and also in South Africa pizza hut was actually expensive when compared with the competition. I really don't know why since there pizzas are small. That's why I never go there. When I was like 10 I used to have all my birthday parties ate pizza hut.