Posted by Mike Lyon
Worldwide, more than 5 billion pizzas are sold each year.
More than 3 billion pizzas are sold annually in the USA—4 billion if you include frozen pizzas.
In the United States, pizzerias account for 17% of all restaurants.
The first pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria, opened in Naples, Italy, in 1738.
The first U.S. pizzeria, Gennaro Lombardi, opened in 1905 at 32 Spring Street in New York City.
Each day, Americans eat the equivalent of 100 acres of pizza—that’s 350 slices per second!
Americans consume an average of 23 pounds of pizza per person each year.
Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day for pizza sales in the U.S.
Thin-crust pizzas are the most popular type of pizza crust, preferred by about 61% of pizza eaters.
Saturday night is the most popular day of the week for eating pizza.
The largest pizza ever made measured 131 feet in diameter and was rolled out in Rome in 2012.
The world’s priciest pizza, the Louis XIII, costs $12,000 and includes ingredients such as buffalo mozzarella, lobster and caviar.
October is celebrated as National Pizza Month in the United States. It was established in 1984 by Gerry Durnell, the founder of Pizza Today magazine, to recognize and honor the love of pizza.
Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in the U.S., featured on 36% of all pizzas ordered.
The world record for the fastest pizza-making was set at 14 pizzas in two minutes and 35 seconds.
NASA-funded scientists developed a 3D printer that can make pizzas for astronauts in space.
Sources: National Day Calendar, 2024 Pizza Industry Trends Report, Guinness World Records, NASA, The Vintage News, Pizza Today Magazine, History.com.