Title text:
If you want to see true audacity, do an image search for ‘Altoona-style pizza.’
Transcript:
Transcript will show once it’s been added to explainxkcd.com
Source: https://xkcd.com/3142/
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This is such a US meme, holy shit.
This is not a meme.
Not even Randall can escape it!
To be fair, the comic artist is from Boston. This comic strip has been around for almost 20 years, and this community is solely focused on the comic. This is like saying to ich_iel “God, this community is so German!”
What he means is that while his memes are in general universally applicable, this one is a US-thing.
I disagree with the claim that they are, as a rule, universally applicable, though I certainly do not disagree that this is highly US-normative. There is a significant subset of comics specifically about US issues, stretching back all the way to the very beginning. I can, upon request, provide examples.
In particular, it’s a very East Coast thing. While we have the mom-and-pop pizzerias on the West Coast, there aren’t styles of pizza named for West Coast cities and we just don’t have that pizza rivalry that the other coast has. There’s California-style pizza, but that’s named for a state rather than a city, and as soon as you leave California it’s easier to find almost any other kind of pizza.
Chicago-style pizza too.
But yeah, the diversity isn’t as significant as the comic would lead you to believe.
That is a disingenous excuse. Most xkcd comics are pretty universally relatable. In fact it is known mostly for its almost complete absence of US centrism.
1:
known mostly for
[Citation Needed]. You clearly are not a regular reader if you haven’t seen his near-constant references to US politics, electoral systems and why the US’ sucks, or literally one of the first and most oft-quoted XKCD comics of all time, which only makes sense from the perspective of a country where, even in the 2000’s, literalist interpretations of religious texts and anti-science narratives are not just ever-present, but were already one of the primary voting issues for the entire country
2: You are not entitled to an “excuse” for Randall Munroe daring, nay, displaying the absolute temerity to make a comic about pizza. For someone supposedly calling out US-Normativity, you certainly seem awfully clueless about the implicit assumptions you make.
3: I’m sorry that you feel entitled to an apology for an american comic artist drawing a comic about something quintessentially american. I am more sorry, however, for whoever failed to teach you that expecting other people to conform to your normative beliefs when they do something for themselves is a bad thing. He never once said that he would make it non-“US centric”. The only promise he has ever made about it is that it is “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” This comic is both sarcastic and related to the semantics of language. That you feel it is too “US-Centric” is your own concern. As a resident of Ameristan, I can say with confidence that you making that normative expectation is the most american thing you could do. Unless, of course, you were eating a weird slice of “pizza” while doing it.
Sounds like they weren’t able to get their usual motzerella order one day and as a result designed a new pizza around American cheese 😅
Altoona-style pizza originated at the Altoona Hotel, which was noted as serving “a unique pizza” in 1996 by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.[6] Following the destruction of the hotel in 2013 by fire, other local restaurants began serving Altoona-style pizza.
The place that created was destroyed by natural disaster and it wasn’t enough to stop the pizza. This is a food that exists in defiance of God
If they called this anything other than pizza, it’d just be weird quirky regional meme food.
It’s the fact they’re trying to pass this off as pizza that turns it into an abomination. An affront to all sentient and/or a̴l̵g̴o̸r̸i̵t̶h̷m̸i̸c̴ creators of this universe. A blasphemy so heinous that ȩ̷̛̖́v̶̘̥̭̤͚̝́͜i̷̭̳͐̇̎͒l̸̲͓̒͛ ̸̞̪͍͈̖̲̓͗̑̈́́̃̐î̶̥̣̮̦̥̽̈́̔͜͠ͅt̶̞͎̉̐̍̑s̵̪͎͖̄̿͑e̶̲̲̪͋̏̊̈́ḻ̸̥̘̩͉̉̂̀͐̏͠f̴̘̦̼̾͗̈́̿̆ shies away. Ș̶̡̧̢̻̳̖̙̲͍͓͍͚͌̓̉͒̐̾͗́̀͘Ť̴̗͊́͗͋̐̓̔̃̄͆̐̒͝͠A̶̩͙̤̠͍͔̰͈͎̠̜̞̪͈̺̅̑̀̈͑̓͌̐͆͂̐̚̚̚͜N̵̨̹̞͍͍̅D̷̡̨͇̯̙̪͚̜̜̝̀͜͜ Y̶̧̛̛͙͚̬̣̣̬̞̮̯̬̝͎͖͔̰̻̪̱͐͒̅͌̈̓̂̀̐͗̏̌͆͑͆̀̂̔̊͋̔̉͑̆͑̓̎͐̚̕͜͜͝E̷̡̧͍̦͖̻̘͍͚̩̼̰̯̮̪͓͚̣͑̈́́͌͑͋̽͗̓́̍́̍̇̒̇̑̿͋̀̿̏͗̀́́͗̀̊͋̽̔́͊͋͌͐̂̍͘̕̚̚͜͜͜͝͠͝͝͠͠͠͝ ̷̧̨̨̢̡̨͎̬͖͍̝̠͚̦̥̬͙̮͈̻̙̘̰̹͕̥̦̦̦̞̹͈̤̹̘̟̳̖͙̞̖͖̬͕̯̖̘͉͍̗̹̘̹͔̜̳̤̂̎̄͋̍͆̈́͌̎̇̈́̑̑͊̓̀̿̅̂̅̄̿̎́͂͑̅͒̀̃̔̄̃̆͊̇̈͘͘̕͜͠͝͠ͅM̷̢̡̡̢̢̡̢̛̼͚̮̻̦͔͚̠̦̥͉̺̥̻̠͔̦̭̬̹̠̲̥̟͕̺̫͉̩̗̮͇͇̬̱͉̯̞̦̱̬̼͔̘̝͛̋͂͌̓̅́͜͜͜ͅO̷̧͙̩̱̿̈́̏̒̓͋̈́̀̇̆͘Ŗ̴̛̛̯̗̅̈́̉̏̓̅̌̓̎̔̽̌͑͋͐̈́̌̌̀͒̂̋̐̌́̈̏̍͂̋̇̽͛̿̏̉̇͊̈́̏̕͘̕͘͘͠͝Ţ̴̨̧̛̛͚̳̖̞̪͇̞̘̱͕̲̺͚͙͚͓̦͇̞͎͔͓̟͍̱̩͉̬̪̻̳̜͚͇̖̺̼̥̤̙̠͍̖͉̻̱̗͇̮̬̦̻̥̑̅͆̂͗̀͌̌̈͗̔͊͛̎͛̓̅͋̽̐̈̇̉̐̽̃̆̆̈́̅͊͂̓̂͒̒̎̈́̿̑̿̀̂͛͒̿͐͘̕͘͜͝͝͠ͅA̵̧̢̡̧̛̰͎̼͙̭̦̱͔̻̫͙̟̪̳̤͉̯̠͇̟̘̲̜͈͔̣̦̘̹̦͇̞͖̼̐̀̄̈́̊̄͌̿̀̆͂̃̈͋̍́̐̔͐̋̽͆̍͛̐̌͗̎̔̀͋̍́̇͊͘͜͜͜͝͠͝ͅL̵̡̢̛̥̙̥͙̟͙̻̤͍̟̙̜͕͈̜̭̦̰͓̠͓͖̺̩͙̯̝͖̟͖̫͖̲̫̤͉̗̗͙̥͚̭̪͇͓̮̗̟̩̘͙͚̗̓̒́̊̏̋̐̃͊̅̔͆̃͑̎̒̈́̾̆́̍̽̋͋̇͐̑̾̂͋̒̏̋̊̓̾̅́̆͌͒̀̇̒͐́̔͑̆̋̑̈́͐͊̄̽̚̚͘͜͝S̵̢̧̡̨̛͖̞̯͎̜͎̱̝̤͎̻̤͓͇̲̼͔̲̪̟͕͍͇͕̩͙͙̖͔̱̟̦̺̳͓͔͙̮͕̪͆̔͊̅̽̃̊͑̄̀͊͋̽̄̃̀̃̽͋͋̾̌͒͋̈̈́́͒̆̄͊͊͑́̂̆̌̍͋͌͗̋̔̓̋̈́̑͐͛̇̎̅͠͠͝ Ạ̸̢̡̨̢̧̡̢̧̨̧̧̨̧̨̧̨̨̡̢̧̥̬͕͕̱͈͙̠͇̟̯̗̯̞͇̝̱̙̺͍̙͕̣̙̠̤͉̤̜̬̪̗̞͇̭̥̬͖̼̻̠̫͉̱̱͚͕̩͕̪̩̭̟̲̞̗͇̦̱̬͎͓͚̝͇̜̻͉̝̘̩̗̠͙͙̻̳͈͕̲͇̼̮̞̠̘̤͍̮̜͚̦̹̹̤̣̹̯̘̝̱̤̤̩̜̦͖̙̥͓͖͔̜̠̬͍̞̯̜̟̣̫̗̦̻͍͎̮̥͖̤̪͍͎̞̼͕̬̻͈͋̈̔̓͗̐̏̂͑̈́̍͌̈́̆̈̋̆̿̿͊̓̇̀̂͋͑̀̎̿̎̐̑̅̃̔̑͂̈̽̍͛̈͂̈́͒̊̉̍̑͌̾͑̍̔̉͛̊͒̒͌̈́̌͒͗̎̃̑̾͐̃͂̐͆̍͐͑͋̈́̇͑̐̂̈̚̕͘̚͘͘͜͜͜͜͠͝͝͠͝͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅN̶̨̨̨̨̨̨̧̛̛̛̹̬͇͈̯͍͍̟̗̥̬̤͉̹͍̜̭̖̬̬̬̪̖̤̜̬̤͎͚̘͍͎͍̦̣̳̟͖͈̝̭͕͍̦̝̘͕̳̪̤̦̫̣̙͎͒̉̊͊̎̀͛͂̏͛̽͐̇̓͑̋͛̍̆̆̄͆̌͌̈́̉̾̈̓̐̑̾̄̓̆͂͗̀̎̐͂̀͊̾̽̂̊̉̃̋̋̽̄́̎͊̓͂̏̽͐͌͆̏̊͊͋̈́̉̈́̔̉̃̊́̅̊̎͊̽̆̒̈́̂̊̀́͑̏͐͌́̂͌̈̀̂̑̑͋̓̿͆̓̿̿͌́͊̋̑͐̄̉̀̑̐̽͆̕̚̕͘̚͘͘͘̚͜͝͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͝͝͠͝͝ͅĎ̷̨̢̡̧̢̛̛̮̮̜̺͕͔͖̣͇͔̳͓̻̖͚͚̺̺͍̖̳͖̮̟̱̣̜͎̥̳̟̱̺̝̼̘͚̟̹̬̪͍̻͎̰̯͖͖͕̈́̐̄̄̑͂̓̎̈́̈́̽̿͒̉͂̋͐̑͛̌̔̈̂̔͑̽̽̒͊̈͛̑̏̇̑́̊́̋̓͒͂̿́͘̚̚͘̚͜͠͝ͅͅ ̵̡̢̨̡̡̡̛̳̝̖̠͖̘̯͇͖͎̺̰̹̼̬̙̙͔̜̜͖̟͎̰̞͎͍̺͙̯̹̗̝̪̻͔̰̪̖̜̬̱͈͉̤̩̙̲̬̥̟̹̝̹̗̱̗͑̃͂̾̉̀̄̑̋́͌͌̀̌̆̂͗̾͌͗̓̀̅̈̊̈̈́̈́̅̍̆̾̔̏̓̋͘̚͘͝͝͝͝͝͠R̶̨̨̧̧̢̨̧̨̧̢̧̧̨̢̨̧̧̡̡̡̬͔͔̬̭̺̻̦̖̖̩͍͔̩̦̩͖̟̥̦̘̹̳͕̮̲̩͙̝̙̩͕̤̹̗̥̙̭̹̲̼̻̝̠̺̜̰͎̟̺͉͔̮̤͓̖͇͎̘̜͈̲̜͙̲̘̲̱͕̯̱̲͕̜͖͚̙͍̬̩̠̹͙͔̖̠̖͕͍̥̣̙̣̥͕͇͕̥̭͈̰̠͎̰̰̞͔̥̦̮̲̳̼̖̹̰̦͓͍͈̙̤̟̙̙̘͈͖̣̻̘̺̙̪͕̪̙͔̫͍̻̼̤͔͎̞̩͓͕̖̮̹̯͕͉̤̹̟̣͉̞͙̗̥͉͚̘̹̠̯̻̋͑̈́̈̋̈́̍͐͊͒͊͑͗͂̀̈̉̈́͗̏̕͜͝͝ͅͅͅȨ̴̢̡̧̛̛̠̪̹̲̗͇͖̪̙̙͎͚̣͙̲̬̳͎͕̳̙͍͎͈̹̲̫̹̙̫͎̫̱̖̯̜̲̻͍͔̻̩͉͉͉̖̲̗̻̟̠̘̹̦̻̱̫͈̻̣̻̟͇̝̓̑̓́̏̍̈́́͂̎̌̓̆̎́̌́́͐́̾̔͑̂̆̎͌̉̽̾̐̈́̂̀̍͒̉̏̉̆͗̄̎͗̑͌̓̿̓̅̔́̇͌́̈̔̔̇̈́̊̅̋̓̿̂̃̏̋̏̐̀͋͂̂̈͋̌́̄̆͒̔͆̀̿́͂̒́̐̎͂̿͆̌̌͛̓͌͌̈́̏̓̉̓͒͑̈̃͐̈́̎͌̾̈́̉̄̓̒̆̏̿̈́̀͑̿̌̔̽̄̽͛̌̒̈́̃̀̊̅̑̀̋̔̅̿̉̀̓̂̒́̈́͊͂́̔͑̉̉̀̃̄̈͘̚̕̚͘͘͠͝͠͝͝͝͠͠͝͠͝͝͠͠ͅͅͅP̴̧̢̡̨̧̡̧̧̛̛̛̛͇̣̣͚͎̹͓̘̤̗͍̳͈̟͇̘̘̮͚̹̫̬̩̘͇̱̤̘̩͕̬͕̣̖̯̣̹͚͎̫̹̦̬͍͈͉̦̤͓̥̭̻̰̠̬̐͊̽̈͒͛͂͌͊͂̊͐̃̎͑̉͌̑̿́̒̀͌̔̊̾̋̇̅̿̽̍͂̏̓͒̎̈́̈̂͛͆̒̒̈́̉̿̔̋̈̃̎̉̃̊̾͑̿̄̔͆̏̽̃̂͊̏̿͒̋̔̍̐̓̅̅̋̔̉̆̀͌̃͑̑̿̓́̃̈́͌́͂̐̉͑̇͑̉̓̍̌̾̈́̾̀̐̐̈̊̎͗̆́̀̓͂̉̔̇̇̃̃̌̎̽̓̒͌́̈̆̓̿́̍̒̈́̎́̌̌̂̾̌̊̏́̓͊̋̀̑̏̓͌͗̈́͗͑̉̂̈̑̇̆̌̌̀́̿̍͒̇̅̿̓͂̈́͘̕̕̚͘͘̚̕̚̚͘̕̕̕̕̚͜͠͝͝͝͝͝͠͠͠͝͝͝͝͠͠ͅĘ̷̨̡̡̨̨̡̡̨̨̧̨̢͇̤̰̥͖̗͔̼̰̪̮̳̺͙̬̤̯̻̮̯̯͈̩̱͖͚̘̖̙͇̮͉̥̹͈͓͕͉̳͍̱̦̦̺̼̗̫͎̪̣̥̙͓͕͕͙͔̣̘̟̳̳̬̙̳̲̫̠̯̥̼̪̳̳̬̫͙͕̦̞̟̮͉̝̤͈͈̱̩͚͎̳̥̖̺̣̗͚̲̲̦̰͎͙̗̠̦͔̱̟̬̻̥̗͇̹͍̯̫̰̳̩̩͈̟͔̟̹̍͜͜ͅͅͅͅͅN̶̨̢̢̢̢̧̡̧̡̧̨̨̨̢̨̢̡̨̢̧̨̛͇̳̟̪͕͈̣̞̦͙̣̰͈͕͎͙̼͍̰̠̹̹̪͎̠̮͍̼̟͖̭͇͎͎̟̟͈̫͓̞̹̥̻̹̹̠̥͉̞̯̘̲͈̱̯̘̺͖͎͖̭̼̭̟͖̗̹̼͓͍͓̰͍̣̲̟̗̫͍̥͎̘̘͉̫͓̣͇̮̩̮̹̞͈͕̬̟̣̥̲̣͖̠̖̼̪̜̮̣̫̖͚͕͓̝̬̱̮̺͚͓̣̯̪̯̫̖͙̜̠̠̜͚̝̲̖̹̱̭̦̬̝̝̯̫̦̟͕̬͖̙̹͍͓͔͓̜͕̤̟̱̬͎̱̦̹̲͔̗͚͈̣̹͚̗͍̹͍̲͔̝̰̫̬̻͎̞̈́̀̈́̒́͐̓͋́́͆͌̄̐̆̈͂̔̉͋̀̉̆̽̌̃̏̈́̔́͂̌̒̽̒͒͑̇̍͑̌̊̈̈̋́̅͌̆̒̈͑͆͊̒́̽̋͛̒̊̒̅̉̈́̎̀̄̃͒̈͆̈́͛̋̂̏̽̋͂̇̋̑͌̅̐̏̓̿̿̈́̽̊̐̐͌̽̎̀͊̐̊̀̏̏̈́͋́̇͗̒̓̃͛̓̔͌̉̍̌͌͌̇̽̐̑̈́̈́̔̑̈́̈̎̐̏́̎́̏̃̑̑͂̓͌̿̎͘̕̕̚̕̚͘̚͘̕̕͘̚͜͜͜͜͠͠͝͠͝͠͠͠͠͠͝͠͠͝͝͝ͅͅͅͅͅͅͅͅT̵̡̡̛̛̛̛͇͇̫̗̤͕̲͙͚̺̑̈́̍̀̂̿̽̾͛́̋̓̂͑̓͂̈́̾͑̓̈́͑̄͆̓̔̏̊͒̿͂̓̿̊͂͂̔̊̀͂̈̔̌̀̀̋̿́̌͗̕̚̚̚͠͝͝͝
Can Elon hurry up and put a chip in my brain so I can erase this knowledge?
A pizza you can make in a toaster oven
Isn’t that called a panini?
It’s funny how it’s so geographically close to the excellent Dayton style pizza
DiCarlo had eaten pizza in Italy during the war, and attempted to recreate it in the United States.
However, its method of preparation is polarizing, and it has been negatively compared to Lunchables.
When I was a kid I was pretty excited to get the “pizza” Lunchables
Yes, kids love trash
Another thing I can add to my kids and raccoons Venn diagram.
attemptedfailed miserably
St Louis style is basically sauce and plastic cheese on cardboard.
Actually, provel was engineered to be the perfect cheese for pizza. It stays melty after it cools which keeps the pizza stay gooey even when the pizza is cold. Pepperoni, onions, sausage, and green peppers is the perfect way to eat it.
There’s a pizza shop near me that uses a Vegemite and mayonnaise based sauce on its Australian Style pizza.
Now, this isn’t actually true, I’m just workshopping infohazards that can actually injure pizza fans.
This could be the basis for an SCP. It’s a pizza so foul that it literally kills anyone who considers eating it.
But what about toppings on a pizza?
Oaxaca
Refried Beans, Enchilada Sauce, Ground Beef, Black Beans, White Rice, Green Chilies, Tomatoes, Red Onion, Corn Tortilla Chips, Jack & Cheddar Cheese & Cholula Hot Sauce.
That sounds like an awesome loaded nachos, and nothing at all like pizza
That almost sounds like a tlayuda.
I feel like this graph needs a line that indicates your baseline normal pizza
NYC pizza is the baseline
As much as I love Jon Stewart, NYC has the worst pizza in the country. Don’t get why people love a limp pizza with the wrong ratio of bread/sauce/cheese. I’ve had better school lunch pizza than your average New York slice. Chicago style thin crust or Midwestern thin crust, or neapolitan are all worlds better pizza.
WTF is “Chicago style thin crust?” Or have you mixed that city up with St. Louis?
If what you’re looking for in a pizza is bread, sounds like you’d prefer Sicilian.
Chicago style pizza was originally tavern style thin crust. This deep dish nonsense is a modern thing. And I prefer Neapolitan over Sicilian because thinner crust is usually better.
NY crust is closer to Neapoliton, so I’m not sure what the problem is.
Not in taste, not in texture/airiness, not on quality what exactly do you believe is similar? They are both pizza! Just to clarify, I walked into this argument fully aware it is subjective. Maybe I’ve just never had good NY pizza when I’m there. If you let me know your favorite NY pizza you swear by, I’ll give it another shot when I’m there. In all honesty I’ve only had it as a tourist as I have family there. Locals usually have a more developed sense of where the best example of something is.
If you’ve got locals there, ask them next time you visit! I couldn’t tell you where I’ve gotten slices there, as it’s been a while, but it’s always been under the guidance of a local.
I seriously doubt it’s the most common pizza sold.
It’s thin crust nature makes it economical for selling hot slices, but horrible for delivery and for reheating.
I personally consider New York pizza to be A tier; S tier I reserve for pizza with a slightly thicker, slightly sour, focaccia-like crust, and regardless, the baseline should be B-Tier.
It’s not even “thin crust” pizza. That’s St. Louis style.
Incorrect; it reheats fine in a countertop convection oven (or a cast iron or carbon steel pan on the stovetop if you know what you’re doing)
Incorrect; pizza does not need to be reheated, as it is delectable cold.
Yes, and pizza with real crust reheats fine in any oven.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I stand by Baltimore’s Indian pizza. Excellent pizza, excellent Indian food, somehow even better together.
Oh hell yeah that sounds good
Yup. I grew up in LA, lived in Chicago for a while and loved it there, don’t care for NY at all, but NY pizza is best pizza. Fact.
I recently learned about this, which is also known as Rhode Island pizza strips. I haven’t had the chance to try it yet
