Good middle-of-the-week morning, also known as Wednesday.
Did you know that Americans eat roughly 100 acres of pizza – about 3 billion pies – each and every day? That translates into about 350 slices stuffed into mouths across the nation every second, 21,000 slices a minute, and 46 slices (23 pounds) per person, per year.
That’s a lot of dough, both literally and figuratively.
These stats seem plausible, but hard to verify, though they are repeated many, MANY times across the interwebs, appearing in a wide variety of publications. It seems to have originated from an outfit called the National Association of Pizza Operators, whose website is no longer a going concern.
It does seem safe to say, however, that pizza is wildly popular, ranking second on a list of Americans’ favorite fast food. (Apparently, hamburgers are No. 1, but I personally would take a slice over a burger any day).
And more often than not, they’re getting their fix from Domino’s. (Again, not my first choice; I would go with any number of locally-based pizza purveyors, but I do understand that there are a lot of places across the country where that might not be an option).
There are any number of regional pizza specialities to be found across the country – from Chicago’s deep dish to New York City’s infamous dollar slice (the cost of which has gone up along the with the cost of supplies, labor, electricity, etc., last time I checked, but is still a bargain any way you – ahem – slice it).
Even within New York there’s a wide variety of pizza types to choose from, including Oneonta’s infamous cold cheese version and Utica’s tomato pie, which I’m sure purists will argue isn’t technically pizza at all. Historically speaking, putting toppings on flat bread dates back many, MANY centuries, though the version that we know and love seems to have originated in Naples, Italy.
Italian immigrants brought pizza with them to America, and the nation’s first pizzeria – Lombardi’s – opened in Manhattan’s Little Italy and is churning out pies to this day.
As for toppings, well, these days you can can find pretty much anything on a pizza. There’s dessert pizza, gluten-free pizza, salad pizza, and the much-debated Hawaiian pizza. (I’m a hard “no” here, sorry). America’s favorite pizza topping, hands down, is pepperoni, which, interestingly, is not Italian in origin.
If you really want to go deep on this one, there are apparently different KINDS of pepperoni, some of which curl and char at the edges, creating lovely – but dangerously hot – grease cups on your pizza, and then others that lay flat. (Those who want to go down the rabbit hole should click on this in-depth report by “Pizza Today“).
Today, for no reason that I can discern, is National Pepperoni Pizza Day, which should not be confused by National Pizza Month (October), or National Pizza Day (Feb. 9), National Deep Dish Pizza Day (April 5), National Cheese Pizza Day (Sept. 5, missed this one this year, sorry), and National Sausage Pizza Day (Oct. 11).
That’s a lot of days celebrating pizza. Then again, given how much of it we consume annually, I guess we need a lot of days to fully recognize just how important pizza is to this country.
Eat up!
We’ve got a beautiful day on tap – perfect for eating pizza – the ultimate grab-and-go food – outside. Skies will be sunny and temperatures will be in the low 70s.
In the headlines…
The GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee announced it would hold a public hearing on the President Joe Biden family’s business dealings next Thursday Sept. 28, the first since the House launched its impeachment inquiry.
The hearing will focus “on (the) constitutional and legal questions surrounding the President’s involvement in corruption and abuse of public office,” Jessica Collins, spokesperson for the committee, said.
Voters are divided over whether the impeachment investigation is largely due to evidence of wrongdoing by Biden or motivation to damage his political career.
IRS and FBI officials told Republicans they don’t recall Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss saying he was denied special counsel status in his investigation of Hunter Biden or that he’s not the decision maker in the case.
Biden urged world leaders not to abandon Ukraine in its grinding war with Russia, warning that Russia is pinning its hopes on other nations growing “weary” of the fight.
In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Biden suggested that if the U.S. and other nations that have been supplying Ukraine with weapons and money were to withhold support, every nation would feel vulnerable and isolated in the face of an attack.
“Russia alone bears responsibility for this war,” Biden said. “Russia alone stands in the way of peace because Russia’s price for peace is Ukraine’s capitulation, Ukraine’s territory and Ukraine’s children.”
At the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine presented Russia’s aggression as a worldwide unrelenting threat that would not stop at the borders of Ukraine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to have his long-coveted meeting with Biden today, bringing together the two leaders for the first time since the Israeli leader took office at the helm of his country’s far-right government late last year.
Biden will press Netanyahu to present significant concessions that he is willing to make to the Palestinians in order to help secure a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Britain’s future king went for a secret morning run in Central Park yesterday ahead of his hectic schedule in Manhattan, which included the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit at the Plaza Hotel.
Deep Republican divisions erupted onto the House floor as a handful of far-right conservatives blocked a Pentagon spending bill from coming up for debate, dealing an embarrassing setback to Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he struggled to round up votes.
Amid backlash from his right flank, McCarthy abruptly canceled plans to advance a short-term spending bill that would fund the government for 31 days while changing US immigration rules and cutting domestic agencies by 8%.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is gunning for McCarthy, attacking the embattled GOP leader from the right and aligning himself with insurgent conservatives in Congress who are threatening a government shutdown.
Discussions have started between Gov. Kathy Hochul’s staff and lawmakers who led the effort this session to pass legislation to study reparations for descendants of enslaved New Yorkers and the consequences of the state’s lasting impacts on the slave trade.
A majority of New Yorkers believe the cost of living to be a major problem in the state and the No. 1 issue that state lawmakers should address, a new Siena poll finds.
The governor announced the creation of the state Anti-Hate in Education Center and an annual meeting that she said aims to combat hate and create a safe and inclusive environment.
Synagogues all over the Tri-State are ramping up security in preparation for the 10 holiest days of the year for Jews.
Temple Israel in Albany was one of multiple synagogues targeted with a bomb threat on Friday, forcing the congregation to evacuate as Rosh Hashanah began.
A bipartisan New York panel can work on drawing new House maps for the state as Democrats push to have the current maps thrown out, the state’s top court said, but it didn’t appear the commission’s Republican appointees would rush to get back to work.
Hochul plans to sign into law legislation that will dramatically expand voting access by allowing any registered voter to cast an early ballot by mail, according to multiple people directly familiar with the plans.
Hecklers interrupted a speech by Hochul and irate elected officials denounced Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed budget cuts to pay for the surging costs.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is polling rank-and-file lawmakers on whether they would support state legislation to provide work permits to migrants — indicating the controversial idea is getting serious consideration.
New York is in a state of decline — with a worsening quality of life tied to sky high costs of housing, rampant crime and an unrelenting migrant crisis, according to a new poll.
Adams, who once called himself the “Biden of Brooklyn,” was not scheduled to join the president yesterday in New York City, potentially marking another low point in the relationship between the two moderate Democrats.
Adams was invited to but was likely to not attend the president’s campaign fundraisers nor a reception yesterday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that are part of Biden’s schedule, according to two people familiar with the plans.
Adams quickly scheduled – and then 30 minutes later canceled – an appearance with Prince William yesterday afternoon, causing a royal pain for any New Yorkers who rushed over to see Adams cross paths with the heir apparent.
Steep budget cuts planned by Adams will be “disastrous, unnecessary, and harmful,” according to progressive elected officials who held a rally outside City Hall.
A dozen New York lawmakers — including four Democrats and a Republican congresswoman — raced to court yesterday to try to block Adams from opening an emergency shelter for as many as 2,000 migrants at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
Spearheaded by Democratic state Assemblywoman Jaime Williams and Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola, the legal maneuver argues the land is “protected” and that the “leasing of these federal parklands for development is not permitted under the law.
The Adams administration plans to limit shelter stays for some single adult migrants to 30 days — and is also weighing placing restrictions on how long asylum-seeking families with children can stay in the city’s care, two municipal government sources said.
The NYPD is making nearly twice as many narcotics arrests per month since Adams took office — a strategy police officials say is key to reducing community violence, but that has alarmed public defenders and advocates.
Adams defended his decision in hiring former Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich, just days after the Manhattan district attorney laid out bribery and conspiracy charges against the now-disgraced Queens pol.
New York City would hire a diversity monitor, tasked with confronting persistent segregation in the public school system under a measure pending in the City Council.
New York City is considering temporarily raising the age limit for EMS workers interested in taking the exam to become a firefighter after hundreds “aged out” of the test as a result of pandemic delays.
When four toddlers fell ill after being exposed to fentanyl at a Bronx day care, the owner called her husband twice before summoning rescue workers, federal prosecutors said. It was too late for a 1-year-old boy.
The Long Island town of Brookhaven says it will gladly welcome the latest potential victims of New York City’s cancel culture: statues of historical figures such as George Washington and Christopher Columbus.
The MTA’s controversial plan to demolish a block of Midtown to expand Penn Station has grown even larger and $4 billion more expensive — with a price tag that could now approach $17 billion, records show.
Warning that “there will be no bailouts,” SUNY Potsdam President Suzanne Smith said that the college must cut significantly to stay afloat.
Through song and play, the dozens of children of migrants who do not speak English were welcomed at Mohonasen schools the last two weeks.
Union activists at Starbucks coffee shops nationwide — including at least four in the Capital Region — are getting what one labor expert described as an unprecedented hearing regarding charges that the company has engaged in unfair labor practices.
A federal workplace safety investigation into a March accident at GlobalFoundries that resulted in a worker being rushed to the hospital remains open six months later.
After issuing a new round of subpoenas, the Troy City Council plans held its first hearing last night at City Hall to listen to testimony on the safety situation at the Harbour Point Gardens apartments complex.
A screening and panel discussion tonight of a documentary about a post-9/11 sting that entrapped Muslims is being used by some to target the former FBI agent who headed up the case because he is running as a candidate for city office.
Indian Ladder Farms Cidery and Brewery now offers pizza in an outdoor area.
