Pizza, the Pentagon and connecting the pepperoni dots to China’s military parade

What insight does a flood of pizza orders to chains near the Pentagon give China about official American interest in its military parade?

More than a slice, according to a Chinese social media account following the scent of melted cheese near the Department of Defence in Washington.

Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV noted an apparent spike in pizza orders near the Pentagon during Beijing’s Victory Day parade.

It released a video saying customer traffic data from Domino’s near the Pentagon was more than four times its usual level at around 9pm Washington time on Wednesday, while orders had tripled at the nearby Papa John’s restaurant at the same time.

“The surge in orders at both pizza shops coincided precisely with the commencement of China’s military parade,” Yuyuan Tantian said.

As an unofficial indicator, the volume of orders from restaurants near the Pentagon is used to estimate the amount of overtime worked by Defence Department personnel.

South China Morning Post