this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2025
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xkcd #3142: -Style Pizza

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/

explainxkcd for #3142

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[–] Honytawk@lemmy.zip 26 points 1 day ago (3 children)

This is such a US meme, holy shit.

[–] remon@ani.social 2 points 3 hours ago

Not even Randall can escape it!

[–] x00z@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

This is not a meme.

[–] wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 26 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

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!"

[–] absquatulate@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What he means is that while his memes are in general universally applicable, this one is a US-thing.

[–] VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] expr@programming.dev 3 points 13 hours ago

Chicago-style pizza too.

But yeah, the diversity isn't as significant as the comic would lead you to believe.

[–] Rothe@piefed.social -2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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.

[–] PunnyName@lemmy.world 33 points 1 day ago (5 children)
[–] Venat0r@lemmy.world 4 points 18 hours ago

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 😅

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 29 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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

[–] felbane@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Can Elon hurry up and put a chip in my brain so I can erase this knowledge?

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A pizza you can make in a toaster oven

[–] AlexisFR@jlai.lu 1 points 22 hours ago

Isn't that called a panini?

[–] distantsounds@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

It's funny how it's so geographically close to the excellent Dayton style pizza

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago (2 children)

DiCarlo had eaten pizza in Italy during the war, and attempted to recreate it in the United States.

[–] jqubed@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 19 points 1 day ago

Another thing I can add to my kids and raccoons Venn diagram.

[–] lagoon8622@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago

~~attempted~~ failed miserably

[–] pezhore 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

St Louis style is basically sauce and plastic cheese on cardboard.

St Louis Style Pizza (Wikipedia)

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 7 points 1 day ago

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.

[–] MML@sh.itjust.works 1 points 23 hours ago
[–] dondelelcaro@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

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.

[–] Zoomboingding@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

That sounds like an awesome loaded nachos, and nothing at all like pizza

[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 23 hours ago

That almost sounds like a tlayuda.

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

[–] wetbeardhairs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 12 hours ago

This could be the basis for an SCP. It's a pizza so foul that it literally kills anyone who considers eating it.

[–] tamal3@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago

Oh hell yeah that sounds good

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I feel like this graph needs a line that indicates your baseline normal pizza

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (3 children)
[–] MonkRome@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

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.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

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.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

It's not even "thin crust" pizza. That's St. Louis style.

[–] lagoon8622@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

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)

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Incorrect; pizza does not need to be reheated, as it is delectable cold.

[–] masterspace@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yes, and pizza with real crust reheats fine in any oven.

[–] DrWorm@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago

I recently learned about this, which is also known as Rhode Island pizza strips. I haven’t had the chance to try it yet

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_tomato_pie

[–] PodPerson@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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.