"Open box before eating pizza” is an instruction found on many pizza boxes. It has been ridiculed for being ridiculously obvious and unnecessary.

“Photo: thedailywhat: open box before eating pizza….. http://tumblr.com/xlu3mhesxs” was posted on Twitter by Crazy Panda on July 21, 2012. “[WTF?] ‘Open box before eating pizza’ http://goo.gl/0XpWN #fb” was posted on Twitter by Frederic CAVAZZA on July 22, 2011. “Open box before eating pizza http://is.gd/V9XyPl” was posted on Twitter by Peet on July 22, 2011.

The American fast casual restaurant chain Pie Five has had this message on its pizza boxes.


Twitter
Crazy Panda
@LouiseZerres
Photo: thedailywhat: open box before eating pizza….. http://tumblr.com/xlu3mhesxs
1:10 PM · Jul 21, 2011·Tumblr

Twitter
Frederic CAVAZZA
@fredcavazza
[WTF?] “Open box before eating pizza” http://goo.gl/0XpWN #fb
2:42 AM · Jul 22, 2011 from Vincennes, France·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Peet
@peetium
Open box before eating pizza http://is.gd/V9XyPl
4:49 AM · Jul 22, 2011·MetroTwit

Twitter
Human Oddball
@HumanOddball
Open Box Before Eating Pizza http://wso.li/i7B #humanoddball
12:29 PM · Jul 22, 2011·WordSocial

Twitter
Wacky Pictures
@funvblog
FunvBlog : Open Box Before Eating Pizza http://bit.ly/o2Sag0 #funnyimages #Funny
9:29 AM · Jul 23, 2011·Tweetly Updater

Twitter
HuffPost Canada
@HuffPostCanada
15 of the most unnecessary instructions ever printed http://huff.to/owgrFG i.e. ‘Open box before eating pizza’
9:13 AM · Jul 25, 2011·TweetDeck

Google Groups: hyderabad-rocks
Why does food have to be so complicated?
Fasi
Aug 11, 2011, 1:18:00 PM
to
Sent to you by Fasi via Google Reader:
Why does food have to be so complicated?
via Bits and Pieces by Jonco on 8/10/11
("Open box before eating pizza” is shown on a picture.—ed.)

Google Books
Out of the Ashes:
The True Story of How One Man Turned Tragedy into a Message of Safety
By Charlie Morecraft
Center Street
2012
Pg. ?:
Along those same lines, I think the best sign we’re trying maybe a little too hard to create an idiot proof world is the warning I saw on the outside of a pizza box recently: “Open box before eating pizza.” Seriously, this warning exists.

3 November 2013, The Sun (London, UK), “Open before eating...,” pg. 34:
AS WELL as annoying, small print can be hilarious. Blog Big Small Print has compiled a list of the most ridiculous - here are the highlights:

On a Superman outfit: “Does not enable you to fly.”

Hairdryer tip: “Do not use while sleeping.”

On a pizza container: “Open box before eating pizza.”

Twitter
Bones McCoy
@HockeySavants
The fact that there’s a “open box before eating pizza” warning on pizza boxes tells you all you need to know about humans
12:20 AM · Aug 24, 2014·Twitter Web Client

Twitter
Wacky Pictures
@funvblog
Open Box Before Eating Pizza - Epic Fail Note on #Pizza Box #wtf #epicfail http://flip.it/x2x-aV
8:56 AM · May 22, 2017·Flipboard

PMQ Pizza Magazine
September 2018
Make the most out of your pizza boxes with these tips from operators
(Copy by Tracy Morin.—ed.)
(...)
Pie Five recently amped up the fun factor when it created smaller boxes for leftovers, now also used for breadsticks and kid-size pies. To please its younger guests, the box offers a maze while retaining key branding elements. And Pie Five’s sense of humor on regular-size boxes once even landed the brand a key social media mention: When Ellen DeGeneres was filming in Dallas, she posted a pic of the brand’s box featuring the tongue-in-cheek instructions, “Open box before eating pizza.”

Twitter
Bert Westergard
@bert_westergard
Replying to @TorontoBlonde
(Open box before eating pizza.) printed on a pizza box.
There is either a very interesting storey behind needing to print that on the pizza box or,
the merchant is making certain assumptions about its customers’ knowledge.
5:33 PM · Mar 2, 2021·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Sensum communem
@onesugaronly
They should probably update it to “remove mask and then open box before eating” to cater to their customers properly.
Quote Tweet
Rush
@exRAF_Al
· Mar 25
We’re knackered, aren’t we?
7:25 AM · Mar 25, 2021·Twitter Web App

Twitter
Patrick Bennett
@PatBennett1
Open box before eating pizza. Wish I’d thought of that.
3:37 PM · Mar 25, 2021·Twitter Web App

Facebook
im not right in the head.com
March 26, 2021 at 12:20 PM ·
Shared by Roger Horneff
No. No we are not.
("Open box before eating pizza” is shown on a pizza box. The following comment is shown below this image.—ed.)
We’re not going
to make it, are we?