Pizza Paws: Decoding the Internet's Obsession with Cats and Pizza

Discover the fascinating origins of internet culture in this episode of 6 Degrees of Cats, the worlds #1 (and only) cat-themed culture, history, science and - in this instance - tech podcast. 

Did you know that pizza was the very first item ever bought and sold online? Or that approximately 1% of all internet activity revolves around adorable cat photos and videos? While some of these facts may not be independently verifiable, it's undeniable that cats and pizza have become iconic symbols of the worldwide web.

Join us on an entertaining journey into the depths of host Captain Kitty (a.k.a. Amanda B.)'s psyche as she explores the intertwined relationship between felines and pizza. Alongside Roberta's Pizza alumni and renowned pizza consultant Anthony Falco, delve into the reasons behind this peculiar connection. Special guest Maria Bustillos, a prolific writer and expert on cat internet culture, sheds light on the unique charm of online communities and the pivotal role of cats within them.

Prepare to immerse yourself in the quirky, captivating world of internet folklore, where pizza, cats, and eccentricity reign supreme. Together, let's celebrate the delightful weirdness that makes the internet such a vibrant and fascinating place.

Tune in for a truly enjoyable and enlightening exploration of pizza, the internet, and our beloved feline companions in this wonderfully weird episode!

Support the podcast, sign up for The Captain’s Log, the companion podcast newsletter and learn about way$ to help keep this ship afloat for our next season here: linktr.ee/6degreesofcats.

Referenced artifacts:

• Image of the original Geocities Hamsterdance page
• PizzaNet original form
• The (alleged) first cat video posted on YouTube

Referenced episodes:

• Cats Are the Consummate Domesticate: Origins and Evolution of Our Feline Friends [Pilot]
• Did You Know the Vikings had Cats? Magic, Freya and Norse Folklore
• Cats vs Cupid: Why Cats are the Better Valentine’s Day Mascot

About the experts:

• Maria Bustillos is an American editor, journalist, information activist, and the founding editor of Flaming Hydra, Popula, and the Brick House Cooperative. She authored the viral essay, “How Cats Won the Internet” (BBC.com, via Cat is Art Spelled Wrong, Coffeehouse Press, 2015). Maria can be found at https://thebrick.house, https://mariabustillos.com/ and on Mastodon at @maria@thelife.boats.
• Anthony Falco is an American chef, author and pizza consultant. He is the author of Pizza Czar: Recipes and Know-How from a World-Traveling Pizza Chef and can be found at https://www.piz.za.com. Follow Anthony’s pizza travels on Instagram at @millennium_falco.

Producer, writer, editor, sound designer, host, basically everything*

• Captain Kitty (Amanda B.)

* with co-executive producers Binky & Snuggles

Animal voices include:

• Binky & Snuggles _^..^_

Music:

• Leathered: "Look Alive" © 2022
• The Captain & Tenille 2: Snuggles: "Not the Hamster Dance Original Song"
• Samples licensed via Loopcloud
• Additional sound effects from Pixabay.com

Logo design:

• Edward Anthony © 2024 (Instagram: @itsmyunzii)

Research used:

• Beaver, Gilbert (2023, January 31). Cats Overtake Dogs As America’s Most Popular Pet: Exploring The Reasons Behind This Trend. Hyaenidae. https://www.hyaenidae.org/cats-overtake-dogs-as-americas-most-popular-pet-exploring-the-reasons-behind-this-trend.
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• Bryant, M. S. (2016, March 3). 20 years ago today, the World Wide Web was born. TNW Insider. https://thenextweb.com/news/20-years-ago-today-the-world-wide-web-opened-to-the-public 
• Buckley, J. (2021, March 12). How this fruit became the star of Italian cooking. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/tomato-italy-history 
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• Cheslak, C. (2018). Biography: Hedy Lamarr. National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/hedy-lamarr 
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• de Argaez, E. (Ed.). (2023, November 15). World internet users statistics and 2023 World Population Stats. Internet World Stats. https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm 
• Emspak, J., & Zimmermann, K. A. (2022, April 8). Internet history timeline: ARPANET to the world wide web. LiveScience. https://www.livescience.com/20727-internet-history.html 
• Ferdman, R. A., & Ingraham, C. (2014, July 28). Where cats are more popular than dogs in the U.S.—and all over the ... The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/28/where-cats-are-more-popular-than-dogs-in-the-u-s-and-all-over-the-world/ 
• Graham, M., & Sengupta, A. (2017, October 5). We’re all connected now, so why is the internet so white and western? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/05/internet-white-western-google-wikipedia-skewed 
• Hoffman, J. (2018, July 30). The first thing that ever sold online was pizza. The History of the Web. https://thehistoryoftheweb.com/postscript/pizzanet/ 
• Kemp, S. (Ed.). (2023, October). Digital around the world - datareportal – global digital insights. DataReportal. https://datareportal.com/global-digital-overview
• Markoff, J. (2012, June 25). How many computers to identify a cat? 16,000. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/technology/in-a-big-network-of-computers-evidence-of-machine-learning.html
• Morais, B. (2013, October 15). Ada Lovelace, the first tech visionary. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/ada-lovelace-the-first-tech-visionary 
• National Science and Media Museum, The. A short history of the internet. National Science and Media Museum. (2020, December 3). https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/short-history-internet
• Phillips, O. (2018, January 30). The numbers don’t lie: Dogs are the internet’s favorite animal. The Outline. https://theoutline.com/post/3128/dogs-cats-internet-popularity 
• Reiter, A. (2015, October 12). Can you guess the world’s most-instagrammed food? Food Network. https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/news/2015/10/can-you-guess-the-worlds-most-instagrammed-food 
• Richter, F. (2022, February 21). Infographic: English is the internet’s universal language. Statista Daily Data. https://www.statista.com/chart/26884/languages-on-the-internet/
• Sparkes, M. (2021, April). What does Wi-Fi Stand For?. New Scientist. https://www.newscientist.com/question/what-does-wi-fi-stand-for/ 
• Turim, G. (2012, July 27). Who invented pizza?. History.com. https://www.history.com/news/a-slice-of-history-pizza-through-the-ages 
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• Witter, B. (2021, January 19). Katherine Johnson and 9 other Black Female Pioneers in science. Biography.com. https://www.biography.com/scientists/katherine-johnson-black-female-science-technology-engineering-mathematics