The Delicious Facts Behind National Donut Day

Americans are internationally known for their love affair with certain kinds of foods like hamburgers and hotdogs, and of course, the wonderful, sweet treat known as the donut (or doughnut depending on your grammatical inclinations). This past Friday marked the occurrence of that auspiciously acclaimed nationwide celebration, trumpeted all over the internet among other places, “National Donut Day.”

The big national chains like Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts were busy handing the sugary delights out for free to customers who were indulgent enough to take advantage of the joyfully celebrated national “holiday.”

Inquisitr News went a step further by telling all the willing participants (me included) who were too weak to stay out of the donut shop, exactly how much caloric damage we may have caused to our summer beach bodies.

Depending on how snazzy your donuts were, you probably consumed between 200 to 350 calories (the cream filled donuts are not surprisingly the heavyweights in this category) per donut against a recommended 2,000 calorie daily diet. If you ate more than your one donut per customer free handout, and you probably did, those calories add up quickly. Better get Bob Harper or Jillian Michaels on the phone.

All humor aside, National Donut Day is just a consequence of the fact that donuts are big business around here. The Huffington Post tells us that more than 10 billion (that’s right, BILLION) donuts were made last year in the United States alone.

That being said, the ten top national donut retailers rolled in over $1.008 billion in sales revenue last year. The phenomenon we call “National Donut Day” first started in 1938 to honor those in the Salvation Army who served the delicious donuts to soldiers during World War I.

The national celebration came quickly on the heels of the founding of one of the largest national donut retailers- Krispy Kreme. Paradeexplains that the founder of Krispy Kreme, Vernon Rudolph, chose Winston-Salem, North Carolina to be the capital of his donut empire in 1937 because the city was already famous for being the headquarters of R.J Reynolds (one of the world’s biggest cigarette companies).

I would feel remiss in my responsibilities as a writer if I didn’t clue you in on two other donut related questions, most certainly pondered by anyone who has ever encountered the wonderful sweet treats.

First, how did donuts get their holes? Though there are some wise tales surrounding the subject, the answer is more practical than anything else. Cake donuts became popular in the 1830’s and the cooks realized there was an issue getting the donuts to cook evenly. The solution? Poke out the centers! Thus, that is how the donut hole came to be.

And for the second question; is it spelled “donut” or “doughnut?” In truth, “doughnut” is the actual spelling of the word, but as so many things are changed in pop-culture, the most well- known national donut chain, Dunkin Donuts, immortalized the spelling of “doughnut” as “donut” in their brand name. And from that time forward, the deal was sealed.

So, there you have it. Even though this year’s “National Donut Day” has already come and gone, you can approach next year’s a little better informed. Check out this article for answers to many other fun donut related questions; like why do cops love donuts so much?