There’s a lot of places that one can collect data to help them with their business – and that business could be Death Care or international espionage.  This story is not necessarily about Death Care, but it is about finding data in interesting places that you may not be looking for it.

So, back in my day about the only solid data I kept was cremation percentage, average casket sale price, and the proportion of death calls between my competitors and myself.  Those numbers helped me but a major portion of my decisions had to be decided on  “feel and intuition”.

Today, data is everywhere and if you find it there is a real possibility that you can use what you learn for your benefit.

Here’s an interesting story that came from Seeking Alpha the other day.  If you cannot access the Seeking Alpha story here I’ve linked two other articles on the same subject below.

Related Story — “Pentagon pizza-tracker.  Can late-night orders really predict war and why it’s trending amid Israel-Iran conflict?  The Hindustan Times

 

Related Story —  “The Pentagon Pizza Index — How pizza orders may predict global crisis.”  Business Standard

 

In today’s world it is quite simple to see the “wait time” of a pizza that you have ordered online.  And, if you order a pizza in the vicinity of the Pentagon late at night and see long wait times, there is a great possibility that something is going to happen, militarily, around the world soon.

As the Seeking Alpha article mentions, on the evening of July 12 nearly all pizza establishments in close proximity to the Pentagon had long wait times.  As it turns out, only a couple of hours later, Israel began preemptive military strikes against nuclear and military targets in Iran.

According to one of the articles this confluence of late night pizza orders near the Pentagon and ensuing military action is nothing new.  Here’s what one of the linked articles says of the history of pizza and the Pentagon:

“The origins of the Pentagon Pizza Theory actually trace back to the Cold War era. Soviet spies are said to have closely monitored late-night pizza deliveries in Washington, interpreting these unusual orders as signs of heightened military activity. They even gave it a name: Pizzint, a portmanteau of “pizza” and “intelligence,” as reported by Business Standard.

The idea was that large, unexpected surges in pizza orders could signal moments of increased military readiness. Over time, this quirky form of intelligence gathering morphed into a more widely discussed theory, particularly when high-profile events like the Iraq-Kuwait invasion seemed to coincide with pizza delivery spikes.”

So, now you know this quirky little story — whether you believe it or not.  And, you know that data is everywhere and when found and put to use probably can help your Death Care business in some way!!!

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It’s not pizza delivery but, here is an interesting job posting from Pure Cremation in the United Kingdom.  That salary in US $ would be equal to $40,000.  My take is that if this job category grows it would be great for funeral directors who want less challenge or for those with hospitality industry training who may be thinking about the Death Care profession as a new career.

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