We've all heard that you can tell a lot about someone by how they treat waiters and bartenders, but it's our little tics that turn out to be our biggest tells. For instance, how you eat pizza, according to body language and human behavior expert Patti Wood. Who knew noshing on that most glorious of cheesy, sliced fare could hint at anything other than your affinity for pineapple and mushrooms? But it's our habits — like the way we devour a slice — that we reveal how we really connect to the world. As it turns out, pizza eaters fall into four main methodologies, and those methodologies speak to the core personality of the person doing the eating.
So think back to your most recent pizza dining experience. Now imagine hoisting that little slice of cheese-laden heaven to your lips. Was it straightforward? Did you simply pick the pizza up and take a big bite? If so, you are what Wood refers to as a "careful corrector," or in layman's terms, a perfectionist. If this no-frills method is your jam, it means you have honed it over time and you know it works — which is the way you approach life in general. You put in the legwork to find out the best approach, and then you stick with it. If it isn't broke, well, you know the drill.
If you folded your pizza before you dug in, you're what is referred to as a "driver." And honey, drivers don't joke around. For you, eating pizza is a perfunctory experience. You need to get from point A to point B, and you don't take any detours to savor the sauce or smell the roses or any of that jazz. Your drive is what makes you strive to be the best, though, which isn't a bad thing. You know what you want and you go after it, and that's empowering.
But folders aren't the only bold group of the bunch. Those who turn their pizza around before eating it certainly aren't afraid to defy convention. People who start with the crust are called "influencers," as they like to set trends and go against the grain. Odds are good that if you eat your pizza backwards, you're the kind of person who enjoys being the center of attention. You embrace that about yourself, actually.
The last method falls beneath a different umbrella altogether: those who eat pizza with silverware. As you well know, this is a very distinctive group. Either you believe in using a fork and knife whilst eating pizza, or you think the very idea is ludicrous. There's very little gray area. But the truth is that you shouldn't give the fork-and-knife pizza eaters in your life any flack. They are the "supporters." They are the friends you can always count on, the ones who are always there cheering on your life choices.
But on the off chance that you don't share my obsession with pizza and figured your personality secrets were safe, think again. It turns out there exists a whole spectrum of revealing habits.
1. Your Closet Organization Habits
Do you sort your closet by article of clothing, color, purpose, or style? According to behavior expert Carol Tuttle, you are a Type 4 personality in everyday life, meaning you crave structure and are organized to the point of inflexibility. Alternately, if you just toss your clothes on the floor, you're more likely Type 1 — effervescent and a bit spacey from all the ideas in your head.
2. Your Shopping Habits
If you read Consumer Reports for fun, always peruse the instruction manual when you buy something, and cannot function without labels, you are an "explanation fiend." This voracious need for information drives you in life, and can manifest in either wanderlust or upward mobility. If too much information and too many options overwhelm during a shopping day, you might be an "explanation foe." While you have a strong sense of understanding, you don't necessarily love to be told how to do something.
3. Your Drinking Habits
TGIF! Does your typical Friday night include knocking back a couple of cold ones or drinking a bottle of wine? Chances are you make a decent living. In a recent Gallup poll, studies found that eight in ten people with high salaries drink more. If you prefer wine, you're also likely a college grad with a love for the finer things in life, such as travel and fashion.
4. Your Thinking Habits
If your friends all have you pegged as an overthinker, well, you probably are. But how and what you are thinking about says a lot about your personality. If your wheels won't stop turning at night, it points toward an above-average IQ. If you can't seem to stop thinking about the welfare of others, you are an empathetic person who probably eats their pizza with a knife and fork.
5. Your Sleeping Habits
We're not simply talking about how much or how little you sleep, although studies have suggested people who have trouble sleeping are more intelligent — score one for the insomniacs. We're talking about the psychology of sleep positions. Do you sleep curled up on your side in the fetal position? You're a worrier. Do you sleep on your stomach with your arms stretched out? You're a "free-faller" who may feel like your life is out of control. If you sleep straight, you're more likely to be rigid and uptight.
So sleep tight, friends. And just remember: The next time someone busts out a pizza fork, they are your friend. Not foe.
Images: Crepes Of Wrath; Giphy (7)
