When you hear the phrase “10 strange tales” about pizza, you might expect a cheesy joke, but the reality is far more twisted. From FDA‑approved fly eggs to a bomb strapped to a delivery driver’s neck, the world of pizza is riddled with oddities that make the dough rise in more ways than one.
10 Strange Tales About Pizza
10 Minutes or Less
Domino’s began its journey in Ann Arbor, Michigan, back in 1960, eventually growing into a multibillion‑dollar empire now owned by Bain Capital, the firm co‑founded by former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. While Pizza Hut chased flashy stunts, Domino’s stuck to a straightforward promise: deliver your pie within 30 minutes, or it’s on the house.
That bold guarantee, however, landed the chain in a legal quagmire. Drivers were accused of racing recklessly to meet the deadline, leading to high‑profile lawsuits. In 1992, Domino’s paid $2.8 million after an Illinois woman’s van was hit by a pizza‑delivery vehicle. The following year, a Missouri jury awarded $78,750,000 to a woman injured in a 1989 crash; the company later settled for roughly $15 million, and the 30‑minute promise was finally abandoned.
9 Contaminants
Given pizza’s global popularity, you’d think regulators would keep a tight leash on its safety, yet the FDA’s tolerances are surprisingly lax. The agency allows up to 30 fly eggs per 100 grams of tomato paste or sauce, and if you exceed 15 eggs, a single maggot is also permissible. Beyond that, the crust and toppings can legally contain mold, mildew, insect fragments, aphid parts, rodent hair, and even what the FDA euphemistically terms “mammalian excreta.”
8 The Moon
Pizza Hut’s imagination has often reached for the stars—literally. In 1998, the chain toyed with the idea of etching its logo onto the lunar surface using powerful lasers. Experts quickly warned that the technology was still years away, and that for Earth‑bound eyes to spot a logo, it would need to be the size of Texas. Undeterred, Pizza Hut later partnered with a cash‑strapped Russian space program, putting its emblem on a rocket and even sending a pizza to the International Space Station.
7 Nguyen Ngoc Loan
On February 1, 1968, photographer Eddie Adams captured a harrowing image of South Vietnamese police commander Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing an unidentified Viet Cong prisoner on a Saigon street—a picture that would later win the Pulitzer Prize. The photo, showing a bullet exiting the victim’s skull, fueled anti‑war sentiment worldwide. After being wounded in action and temporarily placed in Australia, Loan was eventually allowed to settle in the United States.
Post‑war, Loan opened a pizzeria called “Les Trois Continents” in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. For about 15 years the restaurant thrived, until his past caught up with him. Business dwindled, threatening graffiti appeared in the restroom, and by 1991 he was forced out. He died of cancer on July 14, 1998, at age 67.
6 Bulletproof
In 1969, former Marine Richard Davis was delivering pizzas in Detroit when he was ambushed. After a shootout left him shot twice, Davis conceived a new kind of body armor. While bullet‑resistant gear had existed for centuries, it was clunky and heavy. Davis engineered a concealed vest made of nylon, branding it “Second Chance.” He demonstrated its efficacy by letting police officers fire at him while he wore the prototype.
By the mid‑1970s, the nylon was swapped for Kevlar, a synthetic fiber originally developed for tire reinforcement. Today, it’s estimated that modern bullet‑proof vests have saved the lives of over 2,000 U.S. police officers.
5 Danger
Richard Davis survived his mugging thanks to his military training, but many pizza couriers face far graver hazards. Teenagers and adults alike are lured by bogus orders to remote locations, where they become victims of robbery, assault, and even sexual violence. Some drivers have been raped or murdered, and major chains typically forbid them from carrying concealed weapons. In 2004, a Pizza Hut driver who shot and killed a robber on the job was terminated.
4 The Noid
Domino’s introduced the Noid—a gremlin‑like mascot in a red rabbit suit—designed to embody the obstacles that could delay a pizza’s arrival within the famed 30‑minute window. The Noid would sabotage deliveries by freezing pies with a gun or otherwise causing chaos, only to be outwitted by the delivery driver, much like the Trix rabbit.
On January 30, 1989, a disturbed customer named Kenneth Lamar Noid stormed a Domino’s in Atlanta, taking two employees hostage. Believing the ads targeted him, he demanded $100,000 and a getaway car, forcing the staff to bake a pizza for him. After a five‑hour standoff, Noid surrendered and faced a slew of felony charges, ultimately being found not guilty by reason of insanity.
3 Philip Workman
While high on cocaine, Philip Workman robbed a Wendy’s, triggering a silent alarm. As police converged, Workman claimed he tried to surrender his firearm, but a flashlight strike caused it to discharge. Officers returned fire, wounding him, and Lieutenant Ronald Oliver was killed in the crossfire.
The trial, widely criticized as a sham, resulted in a death sentence for Workman. Some evidence suggested Oliver may have died from friendly fire, and Workman briefly received a stay of execution before a judge ruled the proof insufficient for a new trial.
In a final, poignant gesture, Workman requested that a vegetarian pizza be delivered to any homeless person near the prison as his last meal. The request was denied, yet the story spurred a wave of support, prompting hundreds of pizzas to be donated to shelters across the nation.
2 OJ Simpson
Super Bowl Sunday tops the chart for pizza sales in America, but the O.J. Simpson saga created its own spikes. On June 17, 1994, as the former football star fled in a white Bronco with friend Al Cowlings, Domino’s reported a massive surge in orders while the chase unfolded on television.
Months later, as the trial reached its verdict, Domino’s again saw sales soar in the moments leading up to the decision. According to spokesman Tim McIntyre, there was a five‑minute lull—no pizza orders at all—between 1:00 p.m. and 1:05 p.m. when the jury read the verdict.
1 The Pizza Bomber
On August 28, 2003, pizza deliveryman Brian Wells stormed a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania, brandishing a shotgun and a bomb strapped to his neck. Demanding $250,000, he received only $8,702 before police intercepted him in the parking lot. Wells claimed he was coerced into wearing the device while delivering pizza; if he didn’t complete the robbery, the bomb would detonate.
Negotiations dragged on, and moments before the bomb squad could neutralize the device, it exploded, killing Wells. The case lingered in mystery until 2007, when a conspiracy was uncovered. Investigators concluded that Wells likely participated knowingly but was unaware the bomb was live. When he realized the danger, his accomplices forced him at gunpoint to strap it on.
The stolen money was intended to fund a hitman for prostitute Marjorie Diehl‑Armstrong, who wanted to eliminate her wealthy father. Diehl‑Armstrong received a life sentence plus 30 years, while co‑conspirator Kenneth Barnes was sentenced to 45 years. The bizarre saga inspired multiple TV shows and served as the premise for the forgettable comedy 30 Minutes or Less. As critic Roger Ebert quipped, “Moral of the story: If you occupy the demographic that this film is aimed at, Hollywood doesn’t have a very high opinion of you.”