President Trump threatens to destroy all bridges and power plants in Iran
President Donald Trump told reporters on April 6 that all of Iran “could be taken over overnight, and that night could be tomorrow night.”
As President Donald Trump issues an “ultimatum” to Iran and threatens to break it up unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, some people are checking pizza delivery patterns in the Washington, D.C., area.
but why?
Here’s what you need to know about the Pentagon Pizza Theory, which suggests pizza deliveries to the Pentagon spike when major geopolitical events begin.
What is the Pentagon Pizza Theory?
The Pentagon Pizza Index, one of several accounts that tracks pizza deliveries, says the theory that pizza orders to the Pentagon are on the rise due to large-scale events is “supported by historical anecdotes and contemporary traffic data.”
“Spikes often occur at the same time as high-profile watches or important news,” the website says. “Like any single indicator, it is best read in the context of other signals.”
The website uses “popular times” data on Google Maps to track crowds at six pizzerias near the Pentagon.
Similarly, the X account @PenPizzaReport is updated frequently to show which pizzerias are experiencing increased traffic levels.
On Monday, for example, the Pentagon Pizza Report account showed that several pizzerias were “reporting above-average customer numbers.”
The Pizza Index will be closely monitored tonight, April 7, as President Trump has set a sort of 8pm deadline, vowing to destroy “an entire civilization” if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz.
Is the Pentagon Pizza Theory true?
Alex Selby-Boothroyd, head of data journalism at The Economist, said last year that the theory has been “an astonishingly reliable predictor of global seismic events” since the 1980s.
Frank Meeks, who owned dozens of Domino’s franchises around Washington, D.C., told the Los Angeles Times that the theory originated when he observed a spike in late-night orders to the Pentagon and White House when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991.
But Ryan Fedasiuk, a researcher at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, said the theory is not reliable, and there is some skepticism.
“There are any number of reasons why a local pizza joint in the Washington, D.C., area might or might not see a spike in activity, even one located near a U.S. intelligence or military installation,” he told The Washingtonian. “But this is one of many indicators that we can use to determine what more the government is planning to do on this particular Tuesday night.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is also aware of the theory, joking earlier this year that he considered ordering pizza “just to piss everyone off.”
“When I saw a large number of Domino’s orders on Friday night, it might just be me using the app. The whole system is down, so we’re trying to keep everyone on balance. We’re looking at every metric,” he said.
