February 9th might sound like a normal day but on that day it’s national pizza day! National pizza day legally began in the year 2000 and is celebrated by eating two slices of pizza. But where did this tasty food come from? Pizza started off as a fast cheap affordable meal in the 18/19th century in Naples, Italy. The flatbread was already enjoyed and eaten in other places but Naples, Italy is the birthplace of pizza. Though Pizza Day first became a legal holiday 23 years ago, as stated before, it is speculated that Naples, Italy started the tradition during the 10th century. While Italy was enjoying its pizza for multiple centuries, celebrating its versions of pizza day, Pizza wasn’t introduced to America until the early 20th century An Italian immigrant, Gennaro Lombardi, founded Lombardi’s Pizzeria in New York City in 1905. He introduced pizza to the US and helped create New York-style pizza.

Here are some fun facts about pizza that we found interesting.

– On the 17th Pizza day, the Icelandic President discussed his deep hatred for pineapple on pizza and wanted to ban it in Iceland.

-Every second in the US, it’s estimated that 350 slices of pizza are consumed.

-The word ‘pizza’ could have originated from the greek word ‘pitta’ which means ‘pie’. It also could of originated from the Langobardic word ‘bizzo’ that translates to ‘bite’.

-36% of Americans believe that pizza is a breakfast meal.

-There is more than just a day to celebrate pizza’s existence, October is National Pizza month!

-Frozen Pizza is as old as Michelle Obama, having first appeared on supermarket shelves in 1962.

-Though your beliefs of how healthy pizza is might disagree, eating pizza once a week prevents the risk of some cancers

Now that we know all about pizza, how about we learn how to make it. First, you’ll need a couple of ingredients which are dough, pizza or marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, toppings of your choice, shredded parmesan cheese, and olive oil. The equipment you’ll need is a pizza stone or flat baking sheet and some parchment paper. The first step to making your pizza is preheating your oven to 550 F or at least 475 F. Next sprinkle some flour and oil onto a working surface and roll out the dough and use your hands to shape it. After you do that, transfer your dough to your pizza stone (or flat baking sheet) and partially bake the pizza for 1-2 minutes with nothing on it. Then take out the pizza and add any toppings you’d like. After you add all of your toppings, put the pizza back in the oven for 8-12 minutes. The last step is to take your pizza out, and enjoy it! Happy National Pizza Day!