On May 18, 2010, the forum user “laszlo,” associated with Laszlo Hanyecz, offered 10,000 BTC for a couple of pizzas. He was happy for someone to make them or arrange delivery. The original thread preserves the request.
Four days later
On May 22, he returned to confirm the trade and thanked “jercos.” That dated confirmation is why May 22 is known as Bitcoin Pizza Day. The record shows a person exchanging bitcoin with another participant to obtain food; it does not establish that the restaurant accepted bitcoin directly. Read the offer and confirmation.
Be careful with “first”
This is a documented early purchase of physical goods. Proving that no earlier private purchase happened is a much stronger claim than a public forum can support. The distinction does not make the experiment less interesting.
Read it in its own time
Our interpretation is that the thread is most revealing when read as an experiment in exchange. Retrospective price comparisons can obscure the original question: would another person accept this new digital money for something useful?