Figure 1. Folded pizza and unfolded pizza (Gentile, 2016)
Are you team #fold or #hold?
After travelling for many years, I have noticed something interesting; Some people fold their pizzas in half to eat them. What led to the invention of folding pizza slices? Is it the result of considering scent, texture, flavour, or just mathematics? Or are we imitating others who fold their slices? This prompts the question, why not roll the slice or cut it into pieces instead? This piece of writing endeavours to examine the influence of design on people's preference for folding their pizza slices while eating.
Timeout's survey of 2,476 participants found that pizza folders fold to adhere to cultural tradition, ease of transportation, and history (Cohen, 2018).
Figure 2. Illustration of folded pizza (Gentile, 2016)
Food as design fulfils needs beyond aesthetic and sensory pleasures. Starting from its tangible materials to intangible prospects, the relationship between food and design is a complex interaction (Celi & Rudkin, 2016:112).
Designing a better taste for pizza might be a reason for this phenomenon. Tournier et al. claimed that food perception is influenced by both the levels of odour and taste compounds and the food’s texture (2007, cited in Fahmy, A.R. et al. 2021:2). When enjoying a pizza, one is consumed by the taste of its base and toppings blending seamlessly into the mouth. Look at
Figure 3. Images of different food (all images courtesy of Unsplash)
Tacos,
Sushi,
Korean Beef wraps
Sandwich,
The interplay of layers amplifies the sensory experience for the consumer.
Another explanation for this phenomenon is Mathematics. According to Carl Friedrich Gauss, it was found that in shapes like cylinders, a surface must have at least one flat area with zero curvature - Gaussian curvature (Sanders, 2022). Meaning, a surface can be bent any way and its Gaussian curvature stays the same (Bhatia, 2014). So, a pizza slice starts flat, and one direction of the slice must always stay flat, maintaining some of its original flatness.
Fig. 4. The steel sections of the Nizhny Hyperbolic Tower as indicated by the Gaussian curvature (Schling & Barthel, 2021).
The Nizhny Hyperbolic Tower exemplifies the use of Gaussian curvature theory. Designed by Russian engineer Vladimir Suchov, it demonstrates the capacity to produce a lasting and simple design by constructing intricate doubly curved grids (Schling & Barthel, 2021 :1496). As a result, the pizza fold results in evenly distributed toppings and a strong foundation.
Moreover, this phenomenon could be the result of collective behaviour. Collective behaviour models examine situations where individuals face two options, and the pros and cons of each are impacted by the decisions of others (Granovetter, 1978: 1420-1424). Voting serves as an illustration, having a "bandwagon effect", where individuals act based on what others do, disregarding or overriding their own beliefs (Team, 2023). Thus, the act of folding pizzas might be due to following collective behaviour, among others.
Methods of eating pizza are mere glimpses into design’s role in human behaviour. This only scratches the surface, revealing how our actions are influenced by the design of products that stimulate our senses, conformity, and incorporate mathematics. In simpler terms, examining other aspects of daily life can broaden our understanding and provide a richer conceptual domain for design.
Bibliography
Bhatia, A. (2014, September 5). How a 19th century math genius taught us the best way to hold a pizza slice. Wired. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.wired.com/2014/09/curvature-and-strength-empzeal/
Celi, M., & Rudkin, J. (2016). Drawing food trends: Design potential in Shaping Food Future. Futures, 83, 112–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2016.05.002
Cohen, J. (2018, May 29). The Great NYC pizza debate: To fold or not to fold. Time Out New York. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/folding-pizza-debate-nyc
Fahmy, A. R., Amann, L. S., Dunkel, A., Frank, O., Dawid, C., Hofmann, T., Becker, T., & Jekle, M. (2021). Sensory design in food 3D printing – structuring, texture modulation, taste localization, and thermal stabilization. Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, 72, 102743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2021.102743
Gentile, D. (2016, January 6). Why folding your slices ruins pizza. Thrillist. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/folding-pizza-slices-the-case-against-folding-pizza
Granovetter, M. (1978). Threshold models of Collective Behavior. American Journal of Sociology, 83(6), 1420–1443. https://doi.org/10.1086/226707
Sanders, D. M. (2022, June 22). Math proves that folded pizza is Better Pizza. Delish. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.delish.com/food/news/a41283/math-proves-folded-pizza-better/
Schling, E., & Barthel, R. (2021). Šuchov’s Bent Networks: The impact of network curvature on šuchov’s gridshell designs. Structures, 29, 1496–1506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2020.12.021
Team, T. I. (2023, January 16). What is the bandwagon effect? why people follow the crowd. Investopedia. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bandwagon-effect.asp
