National Pizza Day: Over half of Americans cried over pizza, survey shows

Over half of Americans have shed a tear over pizza, while some will go to extreme lengths to get their hands on a slice, a new survey has found.

According to a poll from plant-based and dairy-free food company Daiya, in honor of National Pizza Day on February 9, 55 percent of people have cried over pizza at least once.

The recent survey questioned 1,000 Americans on their love of pizza, and 55 percent of respondents admitted they had cried over pizza, for a multitude of reasons.

Of those, 16 percent admitted weeping over someone eating their last slice, while 13 percent had cried over a pizza delivery order coming in wrong, and 12 percent had cried over their favorite pizza restaurant closing down.

Almost everyone questioned—97 percent in fact—had stated they would go to extreme lengths to get pizza. Thirteen percent had ignored work to order up, while another 13 percent had pretended to be someone else in order to get a slice.

Seven percent even claimed they had faked an emergency to get their hands on pizza.

And once that pizza was within their grasp, they weren’t ready to let it go lightly. Nine percent ate a pizza they had to rescue from their dog, while another 9 percent admitted to eating discarded pizza, directly from the trash.

Going back to basics, the survey found that 30 percent of Americans stick to their usual pizza order and rarely branch out to try new orders.

However, exactly half the respondents stated they were excited about trying new pizza restaurants and flavors.

The pizza market in the United States is huge, with U.S. pizza restaurant sales estimated to be around $46.98 billion, and frozen pizza sales over $7 billion, according to data from Statista.

There are over 74,000 pizza restaurants in the U.S.

A recent survey from Talker Research also delved into Americans’ love for pizza, polling 5,000 people across all 50 states, where it was found Iowans eat the most pizza—an average of five times a month.

That survey also found each state’s favorite pizza, with most opting for pepperoni, a mix of meat and vegetables, and the meat lover’s pizza.

Massachusetts, however, stood out in one regard—it was the only state to declare veggie pizza in its number one spot.

The Daiya survey was conducted with 1,000 respondents across the United States.

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