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Under the Influence

Guess the busiest day of the year for pizza deliveries

The busiest days of the year vary for a variety of industries and services – from restaurants, to emergency rooms, to pizza delivery companies, to plumbers. The answers may surprise you.
CBC Radio ·
Victor Gutierrez rushes out of a Domino's Pizza in California to make a delivery. (The Associated Press)
Under the Influence27:26Busiest Day of the Year

Cast your mind back to 1994. June 17, 1994, to be exact.

O.J. Simpson was supposed to turn himself in to the LA Police Department by 11 a.m. that day. Murder charges had been filed, the arraignment was scheduled for that afternoon. By noon, O.J. had not shown up. At 1:50 p.m., the LA PD declared O.J. Simpson a fugitive. At 5:51 p.m., Simpson made a cellphone call from a white Ford Bronco – the call was traced to a freeway in Orange Country. At 5:56 p.m., the California Highway Patrol begins pursuit.

For the next 90 minutes, what unfolded was something viewers had never seen before.

It was a low-speed car chase on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, as Simpson's white Ford Bronco was being followed by over a dozen police cars. Later, at his Brentwood home, O.J. Simpson was taken into custody at 8:47 p.m. That low-speed car chase was watched live by a reported 95 million people.

To put that in context, it rivaled the Super Bowl for TV ratings.

Because it was dinner time on the west coast, and later on the east coast, people sat glued to their televisions. And because nobody wanted to miss a moment of this bizarre event, no one went out for dinner, and millions didn't want to make dinner.

So they ordered pizza.

That day, June 17, 1994, ended up being the busiest day in Domino's Pizza history.

Strange things happen when strange things happen.

Speaking of pizza, here's a multiple-choice question for you: what is the busiest day of the year for pizza deliveries?

1. New Year's Eve

2. Halloween

3. Super Bowl Sunday

The answer is Halloween. Parents all over North America are busy that night, taking little trick or treaters out around the neighbourhood, and greeting ghosts and goblins at the front door. So, many parents opt for a quick and easy dinner. And pizza orders surge.

For more Busiest Days of the Year, click or tap the play button above to hear the full episode of Under the Influence. Find more episodes on the CBC Listen app or subscribe to the podcast.