This Pizza Box Hack From Pizza Hut Can Help You View The Solar Eclipse Safely

If you're planning on having a viewing party for the solar eclipse on Monday, Aug. 21, you might consider a few pizzas from Pizza Hut first.

The popular pizza chain has come out with a video instructing customers on how to make pinhole projectors from empty pizza boxes so that they can safely view this rare phenomenon without damaging their eyes.

It's never safe to look directly at the sun, and according to NASA's website, "the only time it's safe to look at a total eclipse with the naked eye is IF you're in the path of totality [an area of the country where the moon completely obstructs the sun] and ONLY during the minute or two of totality. All other times require certified eclipse glasses. Even during a partial eclipse."

If you can't seem to find certified eclipse glasses and don't want to miss the eclipse, NASA does recommend using a pinhole projector as a safe alternative. Don't know how? That's where Pizza Hut steps in to save the day — and your retinas!

All you'll need is an empty pizza box, foil, scissors, a pen, some tape, and a sheet of paper. The short video shows how to assemble the eclipse-viewing device, step by step. It even shows you how to stand (always with your back facing the sun).

If you don't like pizza or parties, and prefer t enjoy the eclipse hungry, you can assemble one of these devices with two pieces of cardboard or even two paper plates. 

Make sure your Pizza Hut order arrives before the eclipse so you have some time to get creative after you eat. The once-in-a-lifetime event begins over the Pacific Ocean at 8:46:50 a.m. PDT (11:46:50 EDT); the partial eclipse hits dry land, in Oregon, at 9:04 a.m. local time, going total at 10:15 a.m. If you're looking for the best spot to view the solar eclipse, you may want to take a quick trip to southern Illinois, which will see the sun totally blacked out at 1:21 CDT.