Save for hamburgers or burritos there are few foods with as global a reach as pizza. Although it was invented in Italy it has taken on a life of its own. In the United States it is one of the most consumed food items and accounts for a significant portion of food related sales. But even in small, less developed countries you are likely to find dominos motorcycles delivering pizza down crowded alleys. So how did this food become such an international staple? From its simplicity to its customizability, entrepreneurs have taken the original Italian concept of pizza to the next level over the course of the past century. This list is about more than just the food, it is about the companies behind the food and the things they do to make pizza world famous. For example, did you know that in 2001 Pizza Hut made a delivery to the International Space Station? It is with culinary and marketing innovation such as this that pizza has been propelled to the forefront of global cuisine. So, whether you are an Italian culture fanatic or just a plain old foodie, get your tastebuds ready because these are 25 mouth watering facts about pizza!
One of the earliest frozen pizza companies was run by a family with the surname "Pizza"
Source: newyorker.com When Boris Yeltsin was president of Russia, the White House Secret Service found him in downtown Washington DC, drunk and in his underwear, trying to fetch a cab to get some pizza
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia NASA is developing 3D printers that will print pizza for astronauts
Source: space.com, Image: wikipedia 350 slices of pizza are sold in the United States every second
Source: geconsumerproducts.com, Image: wikipedia In 2001 Pizza Hut made a delivery to the International Space Station. They ended up paying the Russians $1 million to transport the pizza and even filmed a commercial of the ordeal
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Since 1987, October has been officially designated National Pizza Month in the United States
Source: Howstuffworks.com Image: wikipedia Known as the Pizza Principle, economists have noticed that for the last 50 years the price of a pizza has almost perfectly matched the cost of a New York City subway ride
Source: observer.com, Image: wikipedia In Alaska, there is a pizza delivery service that delivers by airplane
Source: cbsnews.com, Image: wikipedia At one point, Pizza Hut had planned to engrave their logo on the moon with lasers. Apparently the plans were scratched because the logo would have had to be roughly the size of Texas.
Source: nytimes.com, Image: wikipedia Hawaiian pizza is actually from Canada
Source: villagevoice.com, Image: wikipedia Pizza shops in Cambodia often have "happy pizza" on the menu, which is basically a regular pizza laced with marajuana
Source: chow.com, Image: wikipedia A medium pizza in the US is about 12 inches. That is bigger than a large pizza in Australia, which is only 11 inches.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia In 2012, UGNazi, a hacker group, took the Papa John's website offline for delivering a pizza 2 hours late
Source: twitter.com, Image: wikipedia Some DVDs are designed to look and smell like pizza while they are playing (due to the heat)
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia While investigating an insane asylum in San Diego, a pizza parlor hung up on the FBI
Source: snopes.com, Image: wikipedia Pizzas are deep fried in Scotland
Source: telegraph.co.uk, Image: wikipedia One of the first ever documented online purchases was a pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut
Source: intuit.com, Image: wikipedia Domino's Pizza and Little Caesars Pizza were founded only 18 miles apart from each other in Michigan
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Domino's canceled their 30 minutes or less delivery policy because their drivers were causing too many accidents
Source: chicagotribune.com, Image: wikipedia Philip Workman, on death row for killing a police officer, rejected his last meal and instead asked for a vegetarian pizza to be given to a homeless person. The court rejected his request but numerous people then donated pizzas around Nashville.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Because Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi insulted Finnish food in 2005, three years later when Finland beat Italy in an international pizza contest, they named their winning slice the "Pizza Berlusconi"
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Saturdays are the most popular days to eat pizza
Source: allw.mn, Image: pixabay In the United States, pizza makes up for about 10% of all food service sales
Source: wikipedia, Image: pixabay The term pizza first appeared in a Latin text from the southern Italian town of Gaeta in 997 AD. It stated that a certain person owed the bishop "duodecim pizze", or twelve pizzas
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Since tomatoes hadn't arrived in Italy yet, pizzas back then were a lot different. They were probably more like the focaccia of today.
Source: wikipedia, Image: wikipedia Lists Going Viral Right Now
