Apple’s new one-ring campus is not the only circle of the future the tech giant has developed. In a behind-the-scenes look at Apple Park, Wired provides an exclusive look at the design and engineering of the building’s innovative touches — and apparently that includes the invention of a new kind of pizza box for the Apple Park cafeteria. Because why the hell not?
Apple’s pizza box patent shows off a sketch for a sleek, bright white circular container, big enough for what looks like a personal pie. Holes on the top allow for excess hot air to escape, preventing the crust from getting too soggy. Rings on the bottom support the base of the pizza while creating a gap that prevents the bottom from getting mushed up as well. The side wall is reinforced to prevent the box from getting easily crushed. Wired reports that the box is designed to allow employees to bring pizzas back to their desk.
The patent was actually published in 2012, and is also used at other Apple campuses — so it’s not as if only Apple Park employees get to enjoy the advantages of a company-only pizza box, but certainly this is one of the first times it’s getting public attention. One box was even signed by Apple Foods employees to remember Steve Jobs after his passing.
Objectively speaking, the pizza box seems kind of cool, but also like weird overkill. Did Apple really need its own unique pizza box? Was it really necessary to patent the damn thing? How many other tech giants were scrounging around Silicon Valley looking to steal novel ideas on how to store pizza in a container? Given the culture there, the answer to all three questions is undeniably yes.
Apple’s Midas touch hasn’t waned, and it would not be a surprise to see other companies attempt to manufacture something similar. Perhaps Apple itself might start selling these boxes to consumers? If Apple wants to break into the food delivery industry, this seems like as good a start as any.
