On February 12th, 1985, Carmela Vitale invented a plastic device that would change the way pizza was served forever. The plastic three-legged tripod, called a pizza saver, is placed in the center of the pizza to prevent the box top from sagging and crushing the pie. Vitale, a woman from Dix Hills, New York, patented the little plastic table—and now people are reminiscing thanks to Twitter.
Happy birthday to the pinnacle of human innovation. pic.twitter.com/4UZIp3myEE
— Daniel Benneworth-Gray (@gray) February 12, 2019
The conversation was started by a Twitter user named Daniel Benneworth-Gray, who asked others to share what they called the pizza saver. Poll responses ranged from pizza table to pizza ottoman to pizza nipple.
What was the actual point of these?? My parents used to clean them after we were done with the pizza and stick them into unused plug sockets to stop us electrocuting ourselves and if that's not the most 1st generation immigrant thing you've ever heard I don't know what is https://t.co/a9jJ0F663C
— Mehreen (@josemehrinho) February 12, 2019
The abstract for Vitale’s patent reads: “A temperature resistant molded plastic device is described for use in boxes or packages such as pizza boxes where there is a tendency of large cover portions to sag downwardly to damage the soft pizza or other packaged products.” Little did she knew, people would soon be using the pizza saver in unconventional ways.
Whatever your use for the pizza saver, Vitale’s invention sure saved everyone a number of unfortunate cheese-smooshing incidents.