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The pizzometer known as the ‘Pizza Meter‘ is presented as the indicator that reveals when the world is on the verge of an international crisis. A meaningful urban legend that was recently revived in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israel.
This connection between pizza and politics is developed around a theoretical concept that explains that the more people gather with greater urgency in a government institution or office, the more pizzas they eat. In these moments of extreme tension, those who govern the world eat more, multiplying delivery orders.
Last weekend, during Iran’s attack on Israel, social media once again brought this idea to the fore, harking back to times like the Cold War or the Gulf War. On X, a screenshot from Google Maps was shared that reported in real time that the Papa John’s pizzeria closest to the Pentagon was much busier than usual. The information was from around 17:00: the time when information about drone and missile launches against Israel was posted.
The pizzometer is thus conceived as an indicator of a global crisis which, like everything else, has its origins in the US. It is explained that the consumption of pizzas in US federal buildings, such as the White House or the Pentagon, increases dramatically when a crisis is about to unfold.
The ‘Pizza Meter’ is nothing new. In 1998, The Washington Post published an article on the growth in demand for pizzas related to government agencies in critical foreign and domestic policy situations. Something that happened during the Gulf War, where Meeks himself acknowledged that on several occasions orders for pizzas shot up at the headquarters of Defence, the official residence of the President of the United States, and at the main office of the CIA.
