Pizza Meter - Wikipedia
The "Pizza Meter" is a term used to describe how the increase in pizza orders from offices of the United States government, such as the White House and The Pentagon, can be indicative of important political or military events.[1][2][3] The concept is based on empirical observations and has been mentioned in various media as a possible crisis predictor.[4]
The phenomenon is part of a broader set of unconventional intelligence methods, grouped under various subcategories of open-source intelligence (OSINT).
The notion that an increase in pizza orders could signal significant government activity first emerged during the Cold War, when high volumes of pizza deliveries to key facilities such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the United States Department of State were observed to coincide with moments of international crisis.[5] It is believed that Soviet officials monitored these orders as indicators of American strategic moves.[6]
This phenomenon was described in detail by Mark M. Lowenthal, an expert on intelligence and national security, in his book Intelligence: From the Secrets of Politics. Lowenthal introduces the term 'PIZZINT' (Pizza Intelligence), within the broader framework of 'OSINT' (Open-Source Intelligence), which refers to the analysis of publicly available information.
