What Is The Noid & Is It Back In Central Washington?

My buddy and I were driving around Yakima and headed east on Nob Hill the other day, we saw the reader board for Pizza Hut.

We both chuckled as I read the sign, remembering the creepy looking pizza bunny man from our childhood and I said out loud, 'Avoid the Noid.'

But from the back seat, my friends 10-year old kid said out loud:

"What's the Noid?"

What a great question for someone who wasn't born in the 80's, and the more I think about it, it's a great question, no matter when you were born. What is the 'Noid'.

We explained to her how Pizza Hut was poking fun at rival pizza place Domino's.

She then asked who 'Pizz Pete" was, and we pretended (you know, lie) to know the answer and told her it was the manager.

I did some deep (dish) diving for information on what actually is the 'noid'?

I was thinking it was something from history, or a weird animal or SOMETHING, but no. It is an advertising character made for Domino's Pizza, with the thought of the character making people annoyed by messing with their pizza.

Since it's creation, the term NOID has been used as an abbreviation of 'No Identification' and is also a title of a song.

All About 'The Noid'!

According to Wikipedia, the Noid was created by Bill Vinton Studios, hired by advertising agency Group 243 in 1986.

What the Noid turned out to be was a weird looking man wearing a red bunny suit with a giant 'N' on his chest, along with the slogan 'Avoid the Noid', that lasted roughly a decade.

The Noid was so popular, he not only had several commercials, but also toys, a video game, and he even popped up in Micheal Jackson's Moonwalker video.

Giphy.com

Why Did The Noid Go Away For So Long?

Here's a tragic story that I sure didn't know before my deep dive. According to FoodAndWine.com, a 22-year old named Kenneth Lamar Noid suffered from some sort of mental illness, and believed that Domino's was telling people to avoid him.

In January of 1989 he held a Domino's Pizza in Chamblee, Georgia, hostage for more than five hours. In that incident, no one was hurt, and Kenneth was eventually found not guilty by reason of insanity. Less than a month later, he committed suicide.

IF YOU ARE HAVING THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE, PLEASE REACH OUT FOR HELP. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE. DIAL OR TEXT 9-8-8.

Many feel that this is the reason why the character was discontinued as their mascot, even though the pizza chain and advertiser company denied this reason (Wikipedia).

Since then, the Noid has popped up in several ways, but nothing as big as he was in the late 80's early 90's.

Who would think a restaurant reader board sign would turn into an interesting history lesson. Now to investigate who 'Pizz Pete' is, and that pesky 'Pizza Ferret'.

(NOTE: If memory serves me, there was a pizza place around 3rd Ave & Yakima Ave called Mr. C's Pizza, and that at one point was called Pizza Pete's, but I don't think that's who the reader board is talking about).

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