“Gather ‘round the good stuff!” Well, that kind of depends on whether or not you like the taste of their pizzas. In any case, it was the most popular slogan for the fast-food chain known as Pizza Hut. Here are 10 unique facts everyone should know about the franchise and its history.

Fact #1

Pizza Hut is currently the largest pizza restaurant company on the entire planet.

Fact #2

Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Frank Vickers.

Fact #3

In just 14 years after the opening of the first Pizza Hut restaurant, 314 more Pizza Hut buildings had been constructed.

Fact #4

In 1972, the New York Exchange welcomed Pizza Hut under the symbol PIZ.

Fact #5

Pizza Hut was bought over in 1977 by PepsiCo, who also later bought over KFC and Taco Bell. In 1997, another merger took place, with Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell combining together to form an organization known as Tricon. Five years later, the Tricon team expanded further, welcoming both Long John Silver’s and A&W, and changing its name from Tricon to “YUM! Brands.”

Fact #6

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The longest running Pizza Hut building in the world is in Manhattan, Kansas. It’s in a small area called Aggieville.

Fact #7

James Spiers was held up at gunpoint on March 28, 2008 while on a routine delivery run for the company. During the holdup, Spiers, scared half to death, took out his own gun and shot the robber several times, though not lethally. Spiers was not charged, as his shooting was clearly in self-defense. He was, however, fired by Pizza Hut, due to possession of a firearm.

Fact #8

In the United Kingdom, several Pizza Hut restaurants have been accused of placing too much salt in their meals, as well as having meals with significantly high amounts of fat.

Fact #9

Now, this is probably the best reason why you should not eat at Pizza Hut. According to several news-reporting websites, including Wikipedia, Pizza Hut uses a chemical called Polymethylsiloxane in their cheese. The chemical has not yet been classified as “safe for consumption” by the FDA.

Fact #10

In 2007, Pizza Hut and Verizon Wireless teamed up for a promotional offer. They gave away free LG mobile phones to anyone who bought their Cheesy Bites Pizza.

Closing Remarks

And those are 10 unique facts that you may or may not have known about the Pizza Hut franchise. Personally, I’m not that big of a fan of Pizza Hut. I prefer Little Caesars Pizza, and Rico’s Pizza Bar and Grill (which has amazingly delicious pizzas, but at extremely high prices).