The Food Size Cycle
The Food Size Cycle
[There is a chart with the x-axis shown on top labeled "Food item size" and the y-axis labeled "Time". There are arrows pointing away from the top left corner on both axis.]
The food size cycle [A normal sandwich is shown high up the chart. The text on the right reads:] Initial normal-sized food (sandwich, burger, burrito, taco, etc)
[The next part below, further in time, has no pictured item but the text reads:] Food becomes more popular
[Next below a larger sandwich is shown.]
[And below again an even larger sandwich is shown. The text to the right is:] Size arms race: average item grows as restaurants compete to offer the largest version to hungry customers
[On the left side, representing small food sizes, the text embedded in arrows pointing to every direction is:] Void
[Below of that an enormously large sandwich is shown. The text is:] Food gets too large to eat comfortably
[More below a new row on the left for small sizes comes up, inside is a panini. The text reads:] New format appears and fills the void (panini, burrito bowl, taquito, slider, etc)
[Below of all the two paths may converge, indicated by two arrows pointing downwards and slightly together. The final text reads:] Merger or replacement

This comic illustrates the evolution of the size of food items over time, using the example of a sandwich. It starts with a regular sandwich at the beginning. As the sandwich became more popular, sandwich makers had an arms race concerning sandwich size as they competed for customers. Eventually, these sandwiches became too big to eat comfortably. At this point (according to Randall) some smart guy invented the panini, a small sandwich, to cater to those who couldn't find a sandwich small enough for their needs. Eventually, the panini itself will begin to grow, and either displace or become indistinguishable from the existing giant sandwiches, and the cycle will repeat. This is similar to Clayton Christensen's theory of disruption, where products keep adding features beyond what is needed by customers, and is then resolved by cheaper products with adequate features.
The title text suggests that the same cycle may be applicable to the depth of pizza crust, with thin crusts being replaced with deeper and deeper ones, eventually necessitating a resurgence in thin crust. Randall laments that despite seeking funding to conduct experiments to test that hypothesis, he keeps getting turned down, probably because it sounds suspiciously like he wants to be paid for eating pizza.
[There is a chart with the x-axis shown on top labeled "Food item size" and the y-axis labeled "Time". There are arrows pointing away from the top left corner on both axis.]
The food size cycle [A normal sandwich is shown high up the chart. The text on the right reads:] Initial normal-sized food (sandwich, burger, burrito, taco, etc)
[The next part below, further in time, has no pictured item but the text reads:] Food becomes more popular
[Next below a larger sandwich is shown.]
[And below again an even larger sandwich is shown. The text to the right is:] Size arms race: average item grows as restaurants compete to offer the largest version to hungry customers
[On the left side, representing small food sizes, the text embedded in arrows pointing to every direction is:] Void
[Below of that an enormously large sandwich is shown. The text is:] Food gets too large to eat comfortably
[More below a new row on the left for small sizes comes up, inside is a panini. The text reads:] New format appears and fills the void (panini, burrito bowl, taquito, slider, etc)
[Below of all the two paths may converge, indicated by two arrows pointing downwards and slightly together. The final text reads:] Merger or replacement
