Simple reason pizza boxes are square – and it makes a lot of sense

Have you ever wondered why your is round but the box it arrives in is square? TikTok user FactBuddy has shed light on this curious conundrum.

In a short video clip, the narrator posed the question: "Pizzas are round, so shouldn't the boxes be round too?"

Round boxes have been tried and tested for years, with Apple even patenting one design in 2012 for using at their Apple Cafes. The patent describes the box as a “container that is structurally stable enough for containing an item in a variety of applications and is also environmentally friendly”... but, seemingly, it didn't catch on.

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The answer could be to make square pizzas to fill the square boxes – but unfortunately, pizza dough naturally forms a circle due to the way the gluten behaves.

In addition to that, the best way of portioning out a round pizza is by cutting into triangles... and few people would want to give up their fair share for a pizza that fits the box in a better way. Triangles of pizza are so iconic, in fact, that the shape has become shorthand for pizza itself.

The reason that square boxes are used again and again, it turns out, lies in practicality and cost-effectiveness. Round boxes are just not favoured by pizza joints due to their complexity.

A round box needs to be assembled from at the least four sections, or to be pressed to shape using special machinery. It also needs to be in two separate parts, the container and the lid.

Square boxes, on the other hand, require only a single sheet of cardboard, making them cheaper to produce - and easier to stack - significant when you think about how much pizza one takeaway restaurant can make in just one day.

Users were pleased the mystery was cleared up, but one commenter would not concede to the logic. They said cheekily: "Pizza box is square, pizza is round, but then cut into triangles".

More facts about pizza

1. Pizza didn't just originate in Italy

While pizza as we know it originated in Naples, Italy, flatbreads topped with ingredients date back to ancient civilisations, including the Greeks, Egyptians, and Persians, who would bake flatbreads with toppings like olive oil, spices, and cheese.

2. Pizza Margherita was created to honour a Queen

In 1889, Queen Margherita of Italy visited Naples, and a special pizza was made in her honor. It featured the red (tomatoes), white (mozzarella), and green (basil) of the Italian flag, becoming known as Pizza Margherita.

3. You can buy a $12,000 pizza

The "Louis XIII" pizza, created by chef Renato Viola in Italy, is considered the world's most expensive pizza. It features ingredients like caviar, lobster, and edible gold, and comes with a bottle of premium cognac and Champagne.

4. Even NASA ordered pizza

In 2001, Pizza Hut became the first company to deliver pizza to space. The company paid the Russian Space Agency $1 million to deliver a vacuum-sealed pizza to the International Space Station.

5. Hawaiian pizza didn't originate in Hawaii

Despite its name, Hawaiian pizza (featuring pineapple and ham) was actually created in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, by Sam Panopoulos in 1962. Its sweet-and-savory flavor still sparks pizza debates today.