1

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Image: Daniel Hooper 🌊

Not all great flavors match, but pizza and barbecue chicken certainly do. This delightful fusion features tangy BBQ sauce, tender grilled chicken, and often sweet onions , creating a perfect balance of sweet and savory.

Some recipes are known to include smoked bacon or sweet corn, adding an extra layer of flavor. It’s a modern, flavorful twist on traditional pizza.

2

Supreme Pizza

Image: Klara Kulikova

The name itself sets the stage for a memorable flavor, and this pizza does not disappoint. Supreme Pizza is a hearty option designed to satisfy everyone. It combines several toppings, including pepperoni, sausage, onions, peppers, and mushrooms .

While it can be made at home, the sheer number of ingredients might make it easier to enjoy from your local pizzeria.

3

White Sauce Pizza

Image: Ivan Torres

The omnipresent tomato sauce, which gives a noble base flavor to our pizza toppings, is set aside for this iteration and trades seats with a creamy white sauce instead.

Combine olive oil and garlic to coat the dough or make a homemade white sauce. This white pizza version can use a ricotta cheese base. Keep the toppings simple so the sauce remains the star—think mozzarella cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, and fresh herbs.

4

Pickle Pizza

Image: SuckerPunch Gourmet

Another flavor that shouldn't work—but does—is a pizza topped with pickled cucumbers. Some pizza joints across the country offer this unique version that uses pickles and spices as its topping .

The pizza is completed with the classic tomato sauce and a light cheese, to avoid clashing too much with the vinegar from the pickles.

5

Grilled Pizza

Image: Revolve Pizza Oven

Unlike the previous versions, the distinctive flavor of this pizza comes from its unique cooking method. The stretched dough is placed directly on the grates over hot coals , cooking it on one side, flipping the dough, and topping it in reverse—cheese first, sauce second. After this, the pizza goes back to the grates in order for the other side to cook and for the cheese to melt.

The resulting pizza is a crispy, airy, well-charred delight with a smoky flavor. Grilled pizza can be topped with virtually any ingredient according to personal preferences.

6

Green Peppers Pizza

Image: Anna Evans

A healthy and popular pizza topping in America, green peppers bring a crispy and refreshing dimension to any slice. Combined with onions and maybe even mushrooms they create an extremely flavorful, crispy, and crunchy ingredient that adds a refreshing dimension to a pizza.

7

Mexican Pizza

Image: Nik Owens

Mexican food is often associated with tacos, guacamole, nachos, and other delicious treats but Mexican pizza is a force to be reckoned with, too. The main ingredients are chorizo, jalapeños, pepperoni, red onion, and cannellini beans . It’s spicy and tangy, with a satisfying texture thanks to the ground meat and beans.

If you ever see this on the menu, don’t hesitate—go for it! You won’t regret it.

8

Burrata Pizza

Image: Klara Kulikova

Burrata cheese is like the supreme version of mozzarella: creamy, soft, and utterly delicious. A good burrata pizza includes cherry tomatoes, pistachio mortadella, and, of course, burrata cheese .

It’s not often you’ll find this on your local pizzeria’s menu, so if you spot it and want to try something special, give it a shot!

9

Greek Pizza

Image: Brenna Huff

Mediterranean cuisine goes beyond Italian flavors and Greek pizza adds some interesting ingredients to the recipe. This version is characterized by its thick, slightly wet dough, greasy cheese, and tomato sauce with a strong taste of oregano .

The typical ingredients for Greek pizza include artichokes, feta cheese, and Kalamata olives.

10

Pesto Pizza

Image: Klara Kulikova

If you associate pesto with pasta rather than pizza, you are not alone. But, as a fellow Italian specialty, pizza also benefits greatly from this aromatic sauce and its ingredients. The rich flavors of cheese and pine nuts in pesto complement the basic ingredients of a cheese pizza perfectly. Topped with parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and oregano , this pizza is nothing short of amazing.

1

Giggle water

Image: Tristan Gassert

Sounds fun, doesn’t it? "Giggle water" was slang for champagne, but later came to mean any kind of alcoholic drink that made you feel good.

The term popped up around 1910 and hung around well into the ’20s. Lighthearted and cheeky, it captured the mood of a tipsy good time. It was all laughs—until the next morning.

2

Blind pig

Image: Annie Spratt

A "blind pig" was code for an underground bar, or speakeasy, where patrons paid to see an "exotic animal" and conveniently received a cocktail with the show. This ruse was an early attempt to skirt the law. The term dates back to the 1800s and had a cousin in crime: the "blind tiger." No matter the name, nobody was there to admire animals—they came for the booze.

3

Juice joint

Image: John Hernandez

At first glance, this might sound like a fruit stand. But during the 1920s, a "juice joint" was slang for a speakeasy—especially the more modest ones. However humble, they had it all: music, dancing, and definitely drinks, legal or not.

The name originally referred to soda stands, but it didn’t take long before it meant something much stronger. If you were thirsty during the dry years, this was a must-stop.

4

Jake walk

Image: Ve al perfil de Andreas M Andreas M

Here’s a sobering one. "Jake" was shorthand for Jamaican ginger extract, a legal tonic with high alcohol content. But manufacturers altered it to skirt regulations—and the results were tragic. Drinkers developed a distinct limp from nerve damage, called the "Jake walk" or "Jake leg." Thousands were affected, especially in the South. It became both a medical crisis and a dark symbol of the risks people took to sneak a drink.

5

Ombibulous

Image: Kelsey Chance

Writer H.L. Mencken had a way with words—and a taste for booze. In 1920, he dubbed himself "ombibulous," meaning he happily drank anything alcoholic, no matter what. He was also known for calling bootleggers "booticians," always with a wink. A strong critic of Prohibition, Mencken turned his drinking habits into witty declarations.

6

Needle beer

Image: Wil Stewart

You know the drill: desperate times, desperate measures. Some barkeeps took regular beer, injected it with alcohol via a syringe through the cork, and served it up as the real deal. This DIY hack became known as "needle beer." It was risky and often poorly mixed, but in an era when options were slim, creativity was all people had. Probably not the safest pint you ever drank, though.

7

Brick of wine

Image: Kym Ellis

Yes, really! You could buy a block of grape concentrate, add water, and wait—voilà, wine! These "bricks" came with an ironic warning not to store them in a cool, dark place (wink, wink), or they might "accidentally" ferment. For wine lovers who craved a glass during the dry years, this was a sly workaround. Just add water, patience, and a sense of humor, of course!

8

Bathtub gin

Image: Bjarne Vijfvinkel

Not a flavor—a method. "Bathtub gin" referred to homemade hooch often mixed in, you guessed it, a bathtub. Tall bottles didn’t fit under sink taps, so a larger space was needed. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: how creative could they get?

The quality varied wildly, and safety wasn’t exactly guaranteed. However, it became the generic term for all sorts of homebrewed booze.

9

Teetotaler

Image: Jessica Smith

This word originated before Prohibition but got plenty of use during it. A "teetotaler" is someone who avoids alcohol entirely. The term comes from the emphatic "T" in "total abstinence." It gained popularity thanks to temperance movements in the 1800s, long before the ban was official. While others were sneaking into blind pigs, teetotalers were proudly saying, "Thanks, but no thanks."

10

Dry

Image: engin akyurt

If you were "dry," you were all in on Prohibition. Drys supported the ban, and dry counties banned alcohol completely. Agents who enforced the law were often called "dry agents." The term became both a political and cultural identifier. You were either dry or...

11

Wet

Image: CHUTTERSNAP

...you were wet. A "wet" person supported legal alcohol sales, plain and simple. Wet cities and counties allowed booze to flow, and many Americans never bought into the dry movement. The wet/dry divide wasn’t just about drinks—it represented a much larger cultural clash. And as we know now, the wets eventually won.

12

Whale

Image: Todd Cravens

Not a sea creature, but someone who could drink like a fish. A "whale" was a heavy drinker, often the life of the party and the last one standing. Whether at a juice joint or speakeasy, whales had reputations to uphold. The term lives on today in gambling circles, too—but back then, it was all about your booze tolerance.

1

World War II (1939–1945)

American veteran soldiers are entitled to several benefits as recognition for their service on behalf of the country, but this was not always the case. Before 1944, war veterans received pensions and disability-related medical care, but that was it. WWI veterans had received bonuses for their service, but these were not redeemable until 1945, which led to protests and turmoil during the Great Depression.

To avoid a similar situation with soldiers serving in WWII, a set of laws, popularly known as the "G.I. Bill", was passed in 1944. These laws guaranteed that, in addition to pensions and medical assistance, veterans were entitled to financial help towards education or training, low-cost loans, unemployment benefits, and job-search assistance . Since then, additional "G.I. Bills" have been passed, ensuring that veterans are looked after once their service is complete.

2

The Great Depression (1929–1939)

Historians agree that, despite President Roosevelt’s best efforts, the Great Depression was effectively ended by the industrial mobilization caused by WWII. America’s biggest economic crisis to date had been brought on by several factors , many of them related to reckless market speculation, inefficient monetary policies, lack of social security, and massive bank withdrawals made by panicked citizens.

While F.D.R.’s "New Deal" policies were insufficient to overcome the crisis, they successfully set up a system to prevent a similar economic collapse in the future . As a result of financial and banking reform, personal accounts were federally insured —which prevented future massive withdrawals that would deplete savings, commercial and investment banking were separated, and commissions were set up to regulate trading and prevent fraud. Additionally, social and welfare laws established pensions, work insurance, and unemployment compensation, and protected unions that allowed workers to collectively bargain with their employers.

3

The Great Chicago Fire (1871)

On October 8, 1871, a fire started on DeKoven Street, Chicago, and it burned for three days, destroying 17,450 buildings and leaving 300 casualties and thousands of people homeless. According to legend, the fire was started by a cow (owned by a woman named Mrs. O’Leary), although this was never confirmed; it was the wooden buildings, the strong wind, and the dry weather that turned an accident into a catastrophe.

Americans from all over the country rallied behind the relief effort, donating money, food, clothing, and more, but the tragedy also forced authorities to review their own municipal safety codes. New fire and building safety codes were implemented, banning wood buildings and requiring fire-safe materials such as brick, stone, or marble, as well as fireproof staircases, exit signs, and outward-opening doors. A new fire academy was founded to properly train firefighters, which put Chicago at the lead of America’s firefighting force.

4

Yellow Fever (1793)

In 1793, the city of Philadelphia received cargo ships from Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti), and with them, an epidemic that lasted for half a year. Among the cargo from the Caribbean, there were yellow fever-carrying mosquitoes, which thrived in the crowded docks and in the humid spring and summer weather. The open sewers, poor waste management, and general ignorance about the disease worsened the situation, which only let up with the cold fall weather, with 5,000 people, about 10% of the population, as casualties.

Although the widely believed cause of the spread of the epidemic —foul "miasma" or bad air— was incorrect, it did lead to proper infrastructure changes to prevent a similar situation. The city targeted polluted waterways and rotten waste, exposing severely contaminated wells. Municipal water systems to provide clean drinking water were created, and paved streets with proper gutters and sewers reduced the amount of stagnant water . Additionally, the crisis led to the establishment of municipal health boards, proper quarantine facilities for incoming ships, and municipal hospitals all across the country.

5

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

Nowadays we expect any factory or building to have proper fire and safety systems in place, but not so long ago safe working conditions were not a given. Places like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York not only lacked fire alarms, sprinklers, and fire escapes, but also locked their doors during work hours to prevent unauthorized breaks and workers' union gatherings . On March 25, 1911, when a pile of rags caught fire, the single fire escape collapsed and, with firefighters' ladders only able to reach six of the ten floors, the factory became a deadly trap that took the lives of 146 workers.

New Yorkers were outraged by the conditions that led to the tragedy, and public pressure led to the establishment of an investigating commission. As a result, more than 30 safety laws were passed , making fire drills, sprinklers, fire escapes, and emergency exits mandatory, among other measures, all of which set a precedent for federal safety codes and protections. The event also strengthened labor unions all across the country, who pushed for better working conditions.

6

The Dust Bowl (1930s)

The 1929 Wall Street Crash had already kickstarted the Great Depression, but the American crisis was still deepening. By the start of the 1930s, years of severe drought had hit the Great Plains (comprising ten states in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions) and had worsened an environment already depleted by human intervention. Native grasses that protected the topsoil had been eradicated through plowing, leaving the land vulnerable to wind erosion, while intensive cultivation of single crops had depleted the land. All this caused severe dust storms that hit the plains, further eroding the fields and suffocating the crops. In an agricultural recession, thousands of families migrated West looking for work.

The government’s response had diverse approaches. The Soil Conservation Service focused on changing detrimental agricultural practices through educating farmers on contour plowing, crop rotation, and shelterbelt tree planting. FDR’s "New Deal" plan established subsidies for farmers, requiring landowners to distribute a percentage of the subsidy to their laborers, and thousands of cattle were acquired, butchered, and distributed by the government to the affected population. Ultimately, the return of rain in the 1940s ended the drought and helped restore the soil, but the education, conservation, and relief mechanisms implemented by the government ensured that the Great Plains would not be as severely affected by drought in the future.

7

The Cold War (1945-1991)

The euphoria of the WWII victory in American politics was short-lived, as the climate quickly shifted to a new threat: communism. The Cold War deeply affected domestic American life, and the paranoia of the Red Scare prompted the government to invest thousands of dollars in defense , infrastructure, political propaganda, and counter-espionage. Sadly, this paranoia also allowed government officials and politicians, like Senator Joseph McCarthy, to persecute and blacklist thousands of suspected communist sympathizers without solid evidence.

While the desire to beat the USSR in public achievements resulted in the government funding the military industry, science education and research, and sports programs, espionage and propaganda were targeted through the creation of federal agencies —among them the CIA, the NSC, and the NSA— that managed domestic security, international intelligence, information, and propaganda.

8

The Revolutionary War Smallpox Epidemic (1775–1782)

The 1775 North American Smallpox epidemic lasted for nearly a decade, well beyond the Revolutionary War, but the military leaders of the Revolution were the ones to put in the efforts to contain it and prevent further spreading of the disease. In 1775, smallpox was a rampant disease in the American colonies, and a big part of the population had not been exposed to it due to isolation. This meant that, when colonists from rural areas joined the Continental Army, overcrowded military camps became a hotspot of contagion. It is estimated that smallpox caused more casualties than the fighting itself.

While smallpox decimated the Revolutionary Army, the British, who had been traditionally exposed to the disease, were immune to it. Recognizing the need to stop the spread of the disease, George Washington ordered a secret mass immunization of the troops in 1777 , a measure that drastically lowered the mortality rates among the army. While several founding fathers were in favor of mass inoculations and better public health policies, most of the colonists were distrustful of vaccinations and of government-mandated health policies. The success of Washington’s mass inoculation showed that public health policies could make the difference, and paved the way for later policies and health systems.

9

The Cholera Waves (1832–1866)

The U.S. went through three major cholera waves in 1832, 1849, and 1866, with tens of thousands of casualties, economic crises, and mass panic. Rapidly growing cities lacked proper sewage, and rancid water accumulated in the unpaved streets, while overcrowding and poor living conditions furthered the contagion. New travel methods such as the railroad helped introduce the disease to different regions, while doctors blamed the epidemic on "bad air" or a divine punishment.

It was not until the 1866 wave that city governments decided to change their approach to the health crisis. New York was the first city to establish a Metropolitan Board of Health, which focused on improving sanitary conditions and reforming the hospital system. Police forces encouraged (or forced) residents to clean their yards and remove manure and rotten waste, while the city strived to maintain clean streets and build sewage systems. By the time the third cholera wave hit New York, the city was prepared, and the number of casualties was much lower. Following its example, other major cities established their own permanent boards of health, implemented municipal health codes, improved their hospitals, and constructed underground sewers.

10

The Smoking and Lung Cancer Crisis (1960s)

Although tobacco had been popular for decades, the 20th century saw a rise in consumption thanks to aggressive cigarette marketing campaigns in print, radio and television. Smoking was allowed everywhere, and it was portrayed as stylish and smart in movies and magazines. There was a lack of education about the addictive properties of nicotine and the chemicals present in commercial cigarettes , a fact that the tobacco industry was eager to keep concealed. By the 1960s, lung cancer and heart disease numbers had risen dramatically, forcing the government to address the situation.

The 1964 Surgeon General’s report was the first to publicly link lung cancer and heart disease with tobacco consumption. Following several reports by other specialists , public opinion about cigarettes drastically shifted, despite the efforts of the tobacco industry . In 1965, Congress passed a law requiring mandatory health warning labels on cigarette packaging, and in 1971, cigarette radio and TV ads were outlawed. As a result, from the 1960s to the 2010s, cigarette consumption decreased by nearly 50%.

11

The Pure Food and Drugs Act (1906)

If you are the kind of person who religiously scans the ingredient list on food and medicine labels, you might not know that these labels exist thanks to a novel (and several journalists' investigations). In the late 19th century, increased food and medicine demands led manufacturers to sell tainted or unsafe products with false labels and filled with unsafe preservatives. Factory sanitary conditions were also subpar, which led many journalists to write about the issue. In 1906, Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle described the meat-packing industry practices in a graphic and revolting way, which caused mass outrage.

The Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906 was the first of a series of laws passed by Congress to address the issue. It created a federal agency (now called the FDA) responsible for overseeing food and drug manufacturing , banned a series of commonly used substances and active ingredients, outlawed the sale of spoiled or contaminated food, set an inspection system for factories, and acted as a baseline for future consumer protection laws.