AMERICANS have spotted a strange phenomenon near the Pentagon, sparking several theories, including the beginning of a possible WWIII.
A Papa Johns pizzeria near the Pentagon in Washington DC, has reportedly been busier than usual after Iran attacked Israel on Saturday.
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Screenshots of the shop’s business hours show an increase in service on Saturday around 6 pm went viral on social media.
Discussion about the “Pizza Meter,” an annual report from the early-to-mid 1990s, that claimed to offer insight into the attitudes of politicians at the time.
However, others argue the Pizza Meter is used as a way to predict possible action by the US military based on how much pizza is being delivered to US intelligence buildings.
The Pizza Meter originated in the early 1990s after several pizza delivery drivers were polled on their delivery locations.
“The news media doesn’t always know when something big is going to happen because they’re in bed, but our deliverers are out there at 2 in the morning,” Frank Meeks, who owned 60 Dominos stores in the DC area in 1991, told the Los Angeles Times.
At the time, more than 20 pizzas were delivered to the CIA the night before Iraq invaded Kuwait, said Meeks.
What is the Pizza Meter?
Also known as “the Washington pizza index,
Coined by Frank Meeks in the 1990s, the Pizza Meter is used to foreshadow a possible crisis or major global event.
Meeks noticed that whenever there was an emergency situation or crisis, staff at US government buildings would be working around the clock, meaning that people were staying in their offices for longer hours.
Because of this, staffers were ordering more and more pizzas to satiate their hunger.
It is similar to the Waffle House Index, which is used to measure the severity of a storm or natural disaster.
Craig Fugate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency came up with the term as a way to inform disaster response.
His theory successfully predicted several historical incidents such as the US invasion of Panama and the Gulf War.
Just before the Gulf War, pizza orders from the White House surged from under 50 to 125 a day.
Since Meeks went public with the Pizza meter, the US government has stopped ordering large amounts of pizza from a single vendor and now sends people to pick up orders.
In 2024, following Iran’s attack on Israel, which saw more than 300 drones and missiles target the country, many feel this new “Pizza Meter” might spell the beginning of military action from the US.
“Uh oh, WWIII incoming,” wrote one person on Reddit.
“War never changes and neither does the need for pizza in times of crisis,” wrote another person on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“They having a pizza party for WW3,” wrote a third person.
A fourth wrote, “Perhaps WW3 was known internally as ‘Pineapple Pizza.'”
To add to the speculation, the Wikipedia article for the Pizza Meter seems to have been deleted, according to several online users.
PRELUDE TO WAR
Word leaders have asked for peace following the large-scale air attacks on Israel by Iran.
Many have expressed concern about a possible regional conflict.
Israel has promised to “exact a price” from Iran in response to the attack but analysts said they weren’t sure of the extent of the retaliation.
President Joe Biden said that he condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms.”
The president added that the US “will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people.”
Other world leaders have shared their reactions, such as Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, who called on the United Nations to “meet urgently” and “immediately commit to peace.”
“It was predictable; we’re now in the prelude to World War III precisely when humanity should rebuild its economy towards the rapid goal of decarbonization,” Petro added.
“Everyone knows how wars start, no one knows how they end.”
Argentinian President Javier Milei said his office has expressed “solidarity and unwavering commitment” to Israel.
“The Republic of Argentina recognizes the right of State-Nations to defend themselves and strongly supports the State of Israel in the defense of its sovereignty, in particular against regimes that promote terror and seek the destruction of Western civilization,” he added.
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