Today (June 1) is National Doughnut Day, traditionally celebrated on the first Friday of June, to the chagrin of dieters and nutritionists around the world.
The event originated with the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served doughnuts to “doughboys” during World War I. (World War II soldiers also scarfed up their share, supplied by Red Cross women known as “Doughnut Dollies”).
Some doughnut trivia to consume along with your favorite creme-filled, glazed, chocolate-covered, sprinkle-encrusted or plain-cake pastry:
• The first recorded doughnut recipes date to the mid-19th century, when the Dutch fried sweet dough balls in pork fat and called them olykoeks, or oily cakes.
• The popularity of doughnuts got a huge boost in 1920, when Adolph Levitt invented the first doughnut machine.
• Doughnuts were billed as “the hit food of the Century of Progress” at the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair (three years before Krispy Kreme sold its first doughnut).
• The practice of “dunking” doughnuts supposedly began when an actress named Mae Murray accidentally dropped a doughnut in her coffee at a delicatessen on Broadway.
• If the economy is in a hole, your doughnut might be thinner. One unproved economic theory holds that the doughnut hole gets bigger during recessions because bakers use less dough.
• While New York City claims the Big Apple, it’s Utica that got the Big Doughnut. That where’s the largest doughnut ever made took shape, 16 feet in diameter and weighing 3,739 pounds.
• Krispy Kreme sells about 7.5 million doughnuts per day in North America.
To celebrate, Krispy Kreme is offering one free doughnut per customer today. Dunkin’ Donuts is giving a free doughnut with the purchase of a beverage.