21 Facts about Pizza to Share at Your Next Pizza Party

You'd be hard-pressed not to find at least one person in your life whose favorite food is pizza - maybe you're one of them. Learn more about this beloved food by reading the 21 facts below.

When we order in or go out to eat pizza, we don't overthink it. Instead, we immerse ourselves in the experience, enjoying the cheesy goodness.

Perhaps a fleeting thought or two runs through our minds about Italy, but that's it.

However, there is always more to be found in even the most obvious things. And pizza is no exception. Read the following facts to discover more about pizza.

A picture of a Pizza Hut pizza inside the box, overlayed with words that read, "Pizza Hut made history by ensuring their cheesy dough won the pizza space race." | Image: facebook.com/pizzahutus

1. A Pizza Art Show

"Pizza Time!", an art show held explicitly for pizza, occurred in 2013 at Broome Street Gallery in New York. There, they showed off 25 brilliant works of art related to pizza.

2. Mayonnaise on Pizza

We all eat our food differently, but what toppings go on pizza tends to be a heated debate - the ongoing pineapple saga is proof of this.

However, in Japan, they have taken it a step further and put mayonnaise on their pizza, although their mayonnaise is said to taste much better.

3. One Small Slice for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind

We are sending almost everything into space today, so why not pizza?

Pizza Hut decided to make history and ensure that their cheesy dough won the pizza space race.

However, the pizza didn't go to waste as it was delivered to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachov.

4. Where Pizza Really Comes From

While many associate pizza with Italy, its historical roots are not strictly related to the cobble streets of Rome.

Instead, in Egypt and Greece, they made flatbread and put spices with oil on them during ancient periods. Later, the Italians added tomatoes to this, and we got the pizza we all love today.

5. The United States Military Steps In

Soldiers can now eat ready-made pizza after the lab connected to the military found a way to create this type of meal.

The American military was used to eating ready-made food with no taste or enjoyment called M.R.E's or Meals, Ready to Eat. The food even gained a nickname: "Meals Refused by Everyone."

With such food likely to bring down the soldiers' spirits, food scientists came up with delicious ready-made pizza as a solution.

A pizza on top of a Domino’s box with overlaid words that read, “Domino’s Pizza Founder once created a one-of-a-kind management program titled Domino’s College of Pizza-ology. | Image: facebook.com/DominosPizzaUkraine

6. The Founder of Dominos' Strange Education

Tom Monaghan created a one-of-a-kind management program titled Domino's College of Pizza-ology, where he studied the subject.

Only two other people around the globe hold the same degree as him.

7. A Strange Final Meal Request

A death row inmate Philip Workman asked that his last meal be vegetarian pizzas but be given to homeless individuals.

8. Cheesy Espionage

Sham pizza deliveries were a number one choice for the 60s American army, specifically the 113th Military Intelligence Unit. They used this technique to gain access to and secretly survey journalists and politicians.

9. A Large or Small Pizza?

With a surface area of 13,580.28 ft²., five chefs came together in December 2012 and cooked the most gigantic pizza in the world.

10. Everyone Has to Start Somewhere

Jean Claude Van Damme, as well as comedian Bill Murray were both working at pizza joints before they got their lucky break.

11. The United States’ Oldest Pizza Joint

In 1912 Giuseppe Papa founded a restaurant in New Jersey, Papa's Tomato Pies. The family restaurant still thrives and is owned by relatives.

A picture of a pizza with words overlaid that read “With a surface area of 13,580.28 ft²., five chefs came together in December 2012 and cooked the most gigantic Pizza in the world.” | Image: Unsplash

12. How Much Pizza Can One Person Eat?

A man named Cristian Dumitru took our love for pizza to another level when in 2006, he ate 200 pounds of pizza within seven days.

13. Healthy Pizza for Those Who Feel They Are Missing Out

Many more individuals have become health conscious, so it's no surprise that the pizza industry has moved along with them.

Two examples of pizza lending itself to healthy eating are those with either cauliflower or butternut squash crust.

14. Where Does Pineapple on Pizza Really Come From?

As the great pineapple on pizza debate rages on, we forget to ask where this divisive food comes from. While many may assume it's from Hawaii, due to its name, 'Hawaiian Pizza,' it originates from Canada.

15. National Pizza Month

Gerry Durnell, the publisher of Pizza Today magazine, declared October as National Pizza Month.

16. Pizza and War

Pizza's popularity blew up in America after World War 2, possibly because many soldiers in Italy came with a newfound passion for pizza.

A picture of an elderly man holding a pizza with words that read, “You can still eat at the oldest pizza place in America: a restaurant founded in New Jersey called ‘Papa’s Tamato Pies’.” | Image: Unsplash

17. The Booming Pizza Industry

The pizza industry is worth billions—more specifically, 37 billion dollars.

18. Mozzarella Is More Complicated than It Seems

When making pizza, there are four different types of mozzarella that can be used, namely di bufala, fior de latte, burrata, and whole milk cheese—each delivering its own distinct flavor.

19. A Slice of Pizza Can Have Up to 370 Kilocalories

On average, pizza has between 220 to 370 kilocalories within a slice.

20. The Cost of a Delicious Slice of Pizza

If you're willing to fork out $12,000, you may get a taste of the most expensive pizza in the world from Luis XIII, located in Salerno in Italy.

Some ingredients include sea salt from the Murray River in Australia and lobster sourced from Norway.

21. How Pizza Helped Create a Band

Macaulay Culkin loves pizza so much that he created a band named "Pizza Underground," which covers for the iconic band, "Velvet Underground."

A picture of a pizza with words overlaid that read, “The idea of pineapple pizza originally comes from Canada.” | Image: Unsplash

At the end of the day, while all these facts are interesting, the true joy of pizza doesn't just come from how good it tastes.

Instead, it comes from sitting around sharing slices with family or friends. It's a communal food and one that invites everyone to connect, which is, after all, an extremely important part of life.