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Ancient Rome -

Takeout from markets and roadside stalls were actually commonplace in ancient Rome, and in fact a big part of life for the plebeians and ordinary soldiers. There's even a reference to takeout in a poem by Virgil (70-19 BCE), an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period, called 'Moretum,' which is arguably the earliest allusion to takeout in recorded history.

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Pompeii -

The ruins of the Roman city of Pompeii, in Italy, are dotted with over 200 early takeout counters, called thermopolia. According to Atlas Obscura, a mere 40% of the lower-class homes and 66% of middle-class ones in the Vesuvian area had a hearth at home to cook, which meant the average working-class citizens relied on thermopolia for sustenance. Remnants of snails, ducks, goats, chickens, and pigs were discovered many hundreds of years after the white-hot volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii in 79 CE.

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Aztec Empire -

Takeout was also readily available within the Aztec Empire. Stalls at marketplaces offered foods that could be easily consumed while people were out and about, the most notable option being the tamale—of which many varieties were sold, including ingredients that ranged from turkey and rabbit meat to fruit, fish, and eggs.

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Takeout in medieval Europe -

Street vendors in medieval London sold hot meat pies, geese, sheep's feet, and wine—mostly to the urban poor who lacked kitchen facilities in which they could cook their own food. In medieval Paris, roasted meats, tarts, flans, and more were the street vendors' choice.

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China from the 10th century -

In 10th- and 11th-century China, cities such as Kaifeng and Hangzhou reportedly offered takeaway pastries such as yuebing (mooncake) and cong you bing (scallion pancakes).

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Delivery in 14th-century France -

The wealthy also enjoyed takeout, but they much preferred delivery. Butchers in 14th-century Paris would reportedly send their goods straight to the homes of the families who could afford it.

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Early food delivery in Korea -

In Korea, delivery services trace back to the 18th century. The earliest Korean food delivery on record is said to be naengmyun, a cold buckwheat noodle soup, in the Joseon era (1392-1910). According to Invest Korea, scholar Hwang Yun-seok (1729-1791) mentions in his book that he ordered naengmyun for lunch with his colleagues on the day after the state examination in July 1768.

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The first pizza delivery -

The first ever pizza delivery is said to have happened in 1889, when King Umberto and Queen Margherita requested a pizza from the acclaimed Italian culinary talent Raffaele Esposito. The toppings were simple—tomatoes, basil, and cheese to represent the colors of the Italian flag—and the queen loved it so much that Esposito named it after her.

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Lunch delivery in India since the 19th century -

During the late 19th century in India, a man named Mahadeo Havaji Bachche found that laborers in the city of Bombay (now Mumbai) didn't have many options when it came to lunchtime, so he came up with a system to help. Called dabbawala, the system involves delivery workers bringing hot food from people's homes into the city where they were working at lunch. It was very successful, spread beyond Bombay, and even continues to this day.

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Takeout for travel -

Until the mid-20th century, the most common places to find takeout in the US were major transit hubs, like train stations or intersections of major highways. American soldiers had also recounted lunch boxes they bought on trains in Japan and China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Time reports. Eating on the go was thus more likely to be part of a laborer's life.

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Association with African-American women -

In the 18th and 19th centuries in the US, African-American women became most closely associated with takeout among travelers, mostly because it was one of the few options for such a marginalized community to earn a living. Takeout food was a point of connection between marginalized communities and the society that marginalized them, as many travelers worshipped the wares these women sold, from biscuits and cakes to fried chicken.

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A darker takeout history for African Americans -

Takeout was also forced upon black folks living in the Jim Crow era, as segregated restaurants often only allowed white diners to eat inside, forcing African Americans to order their food as takeaway.

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Fish and chips took off in Britain -

Though its origins in the 19th century are hotly debated, by the early 20th century fish and chips, served wrapped in a sheet of newspaper, was considered an "established institution" in Britain. It was fueled by the growing industrial population and serviced by the development of the steam-powered trawler and railways, which brought and distributed fish around the country.

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Industrialization popularized takeout -

Particularly for the urban working classes in the early 20th century, industrialization meant that people were laboring long hours further from home. They still wanted a hot meal during their work day, and lunch carts and takeout saw a rise in popularity.

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Seafood was once among the top takeout -

According to Time, some of the most popular takeaway foods in east coast urban centers like New York around the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century were oysters, scallops, and other steamed, stewed, or chowdered sea creatures–which are today thought of as luxurious.

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Takeout in the '20s -

The 1920s brought takeout for the more leisurely diners who wanted sandwiches, hot dogs, or burgers to take on picnics or just on the go. There were also hot meals for people to take home so that they didn't have to cook.

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The Chinese food box was created for oysters -

What most of us recognize as a Chinese takeout box actually began in the late 19th century as an oyster pail, used as an inexpensive and sanitary way to transport shucked oyster meat back when they were more plentiful and less expensive.

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The rise of Chinese takeout in the US -

The earliest known reference to Chinese food delivery reportedly comes from a restaurant in Los Angeles, also said to be the first US restaurant to offer this service. In 1922, Kin-Chu café proclaimed that it was “the only place on the West Coast making and delivering real Chinese food.” All you had to do was call, even as late as 1 am, and they would deliver a hot dish to you.

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The fascination with takeout pizza -

In the 1940s, soldiers returning from WWII in Europe had developed a taste for Italian cuisine and flocked to the few Italian restaurants around. It was such a rush that The New York Times even explained pizza to its readers for the first time in 1944. That same year, restaurants in NYC offered takeout pizza that was “packed, piping hot, in special boxes,” thus convincing Americans of the merit of takeout pizza.

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Post WWII and the introduction of TV -

After WWII, middle-class Americans with homes in the suburbs got somewhat addicted to television, and began to prefer sitting in front of the tube and eating meals there. Restaurants began to struggle without patrons, so they figured out a solution.

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Delivery and takeout was the solution -

Restaurants began advertising “television menus” made for taking home ready-to-eat food, or food that could be heated up at home. Their declining numbers took a steep turn for the better, and most restaurants began including takeout and delivery options.

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The fast-food boom -

With the rise of places like McDonald's and In-N-Out, drive-throughs began allowing customers to purchase food without ever entering the restaurant. By the 1960s, when cars had taken over the roads, fast-food joints catering almost exclusively in takeout became the fastest growing facet of the restaurant industry.

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Domino's Pizza popularized pizza delivery -

The original Domino's building, then known as DomiNick's in the '60s, was reportedly too small for sit-down dining, so co-owner Tom Monaghan hired local laid-off factory workers to deliver pizzas. The restaurant became "Domino's Pizza, Inc" in 1965, thanks to delivery driver Jim Kennedy.

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The first thing ever sold online was pizza -

The introduction of the internet widened our horizons, and with the opportunity to buy and sell online, the first product to ever be ordered was not only food, but pizza. Pizza Hut's Pizzanet boasts this particular historical fame after using a basic website to process the order in January 1994.

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The most ambitious delivery ever -

While most restaurants will only deliver to a short perimeter around them, in 2001 Pizza Hut struck a deal with the Russian space agency Roscosmos to have a pizza delivered to the International Space Station (ISS).

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The biggest takeout order ever -

In 2012, Pizzas 4 Patriots (USA) broke the world record for most pizzas delivered when they dropped off 30,000 pizzas with DHL Express to the United States Armed Forces, in Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. The pizzas were made by Great Kitchens, Inc. in Illinois. After arriving in Afghanistan the pizzas were then further transported around Afghanistan and Kuwait by the United States Armed Forces. Pizzas 4 Patriots wanted to give the servicemen and servicewomen a 'slice of home' on Independence Day.

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Drone delivery -

One of the most recent developments in takeout food is drone delivery. In 2016, pizza was actually delivered by drone in New Zealand. Since then, many other companies and businesses have begun partnering up with drone companies to get started with airborne deliveries.

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The rise of ghost kitchens -

Takeout and delivery has grown so popular that there are now “ghost kitchens,” which are kitchens that produce meals exclusively for delivery. You couldn't eat on the premises if you tried!

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The pandemic boom -

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many restaurants to close their indoor dining spaces while simultaneously forcing people to stay at home. That resulted in a huge boom for the takeout industry.

Sources: (Time) (Atlas Obscura) (Scribol) (Thrillist) (Eat Out, Eat Well) (Invest Korea) (History Associates)

See also: Everyday things that will likely disappear in the next 20 years

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