Here at Jenny & Andy, we just love a sweet, pillowy, sprinkled donut.
So much so that we had to get it printed on our towels, wash cloths, plush rattle cubes, and crinkle toys (thanks to the artist behind our classic donut print, Sarah Hopgood).
National Donut Day is on June 3, 2022 this year and we’ve got 10 deliciously delightful facts about donuts for you!
1. National Doughnut Day was started by the Salvation Army.
Photo via Salvation Army
National Donut Day falls on the first Friday of every June. The day began back in 1938 to recognize the work and dedication of “Doughnut Lassies”, the group of women who volunteered with the Salvation Army to establish social centres and canteens and hand out donuts to the American troops who served in WWI. Despite there only being 250 volunteers, the Doughnut Lassies had a huge positive impact on the soldiers’ psyche.
Today, The Salvation Army continues to serve doughnuts within communities to celebrate special occasions and also to thank and support essential workers, and honour and echo the work of the doughnut lassies.
2. The Most Expensive Donut In Canada Costs $100.
Photo via World Record Academy
Dolicious Donuts, a bakery based in West Kelowna, is home to “Donutopia”, the most expensive donut in Canada, selling for $100 each. Even the water used to make it, Bling H20, is luxury, selling at $39 a bottle. On the outside, this donut is glazed with chocolate-balsamic vinegar icing and topped with flakes of gold and sugar diamonds. Inside, it's filled with ice wine-infused cream.
3. Renée Zellweger ate 20 donuts a day for her Bridget Jones role.
Per the Daily Mail, actress Renée Zellweger had to work to eat more than 4,000 calories a day to pick up her role of Bridget Jones in "Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason." Trying to go from a size 6 to a size 14 in only three months, Renée ate about 20 donuts per day!
She told the Daily Mail, "I have to stick to it because I found out last time that one doughnut doesn't do a thing. You've got to eat 20 a day for five weeks before you get results." She added that, although reluctant to gain more weight, it was essential if she was to play the part properly.
4. You can burn off a donut with a 30-minute bike ride.
And what about the other end of the spectrum: what does it take to burn approximately 200 calories, the equivalent of a glazed donut? Turns out, about half an hour of vigorous biking!
5. The Statue of Liberty is 3,660 donuts tall.
It would take 3,660 doughnuts to reach the top of the Statue of Liberty. The Statue is about 305 feet tall, from the ground to the tip of the flame. It’s the equivalent height of a 22-story building, or 3,660 donuts.
6. There is a donut shop in Michigan run entirely by police officers.
There was a donut shop and bakery in Clare, Michigan that had been in constant operation since 1896, but within weeks of closing, all nine members of the Clare Police Department came together to save the historic business. Today, it is known as Cops and Doughnuts.
7. The Spudnut is a donut made with potatoes.
Created in 1946 in Salt Lake City by brothers Al and Bob Pelton, spudnuts are glazed yeast donuts made with mashed potatoes. This potato-based donut balances sweet and savoury perfectly! Here’s a recipe you can try at home.
8. The world’s biggest (Simpsons-inspired) donut boasts 12,000 calories.
Food blogger Julia Goolia claims to have made the world’s largest Simpsons-inspired donut with almost 12,000 calories. The largest donut ever made, however, was a jelly-filled donut weighing at 1.7 tons and measuring 16 feet wide, 15 inches high. It was made by representatives from Hemstrought's Bakeries, Donato's Bakery, and the radio station WKLL-FM, in Utica, New York in 1993.
9. Per capita, Canadians eat the most donuts compared to any other country.
We love our donuts! Conveniently, there are over 4,600 Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada.
10. Tim Horton’s invented the Apple Fritter and Dutchie
This reinforces our pride in our Canadian donut eating habits.
Enjoy Jenny & Andy's Donut Products—Without The Calories
Check out our sweet donut-print products, all hand-made locally in Toronto, Canada using GOTS-certified organic cotton!
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Canadian History Ehx (2020). The Origin of Tim Hortons.
- Cops & Doughnuts (2021).
- Daily Mail. Renée: my doughnut diet.
- Delish (2015). This Doughnut is Made Out of Golden Flakes and 'Edible Diamonds’.
- Food Network. 12 Things You Never Knew About Doughnuts.
- National Park Service (2002). Statue Of Liberty Get the Facts.
- Smithsonian Magazine (1998). The History of the Doughnut.
- Smithsonian Magazine (2017). The Women Who Fried Donuts and Dodged Bombs on the Front Lines of WWI.
