National Donut Day

 Today is a very special day, as it is National Donut Day in the United States! 

National Donut Day is celebrated on the first Friday in June, as well as in early November. 

The first National Donut Day was organized by the Salvation Army in 1938. Why? Well, during World War I, volunteers would travel overseas to make donuts for the troops in the trenches. These volunteers would be known as "Donut Lassies", and their work would help make donuts a popular treat. And now here's a couple fun facts about donuts, courtesy of MSN:

- You ever wonder why cops are associated with consuming donuts? Well, it is because of availability. Back in the day, cops working graveyard shifts had limited options when they wanted to get something to eat. Bakeries often opened very early, before sunrise, to make their wares for the day's customers. Some cops would pack lunches, but it was often easier just to get a donut.

- You ever watch someone get donuts in a movie and TV show and notice the donut boxes are pink? Well, that's because pink boxes are used in Southern California to carry donuts. If you're watching something set in New York, and the donut box is pink, it's likely originally filmed in SoCal. Why is that, you may ask? Well, according to the Los Angeles Times, it's because of a Cambodian refugee named Ted Ngoy and his protegee, Ning Yen. The story is not clear, but one possibility is that they wanted a cheaper alternative to the white boxes used to deliver donuts at the time, and pink just came up. However, another story, told by Ning Yen's son, claimed that they wanted red boxes (red symbolizes good luck in Cambodian culture), and the box-makers kept sending them pink ones. Either way, pink boxes have become associated with SoCal donut shops.  

- What country consumes the most donuts? Canada. Yeah, Canada loves their donuts. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada consumes more donuts per capita than any other nation. In fact, their most successful native restaurant chain is Tim Horton's, which is a coffee-and-donut shop. Canada has more donut shops per capita than any other country. So, yeah. If you think of Canada, don't just think of moose, snow, and the Harts. Think of donuts as well. You know, I bet Homer Simpson would love visiting Canada. 

And that's some fun facts about the treat! I hope you treated yourself to a nice donut today!