100 Fun Facts About Donuts Trivia for Kids

Which settlers brought 'olykoeks', or oil cakes, to New York and helped start America's love of donuts?

Olykoek means 'oil cake', and they arrived in what was then called New Amsterdam in the early 1700s.

Which famous author wrote about 'dough-nuts' as balls of sweet dough fried in fat, way back in 1809?

It appears in his comic book A History of New York, and those little 'nuts' of dough are what we would now call donut holes.

Hanson Gregory claimed he invented the ring-shaped donut in 1847 while working where?

He said he was 16 and aboard a lime-trading ship at the time; the middle of a donut is the hardest part to cook through.

Why was the short spelling 'donut' invented in the 1920s?

A New York company that sold automatic donut machines shortened the word to help sell them overseas.

What are the two most common types of donut?

Filled donuts are injected with jelly, cream or custard after frying.

Before it became Dunkin' Donuts in 1950, the shop had what name?

It is the oldest surviving company to use the short 'donut' spelling, and it dropped 'Donuts' from its name in 2019.

Krispy Kreme was founded in 1937 in Winston-Salem in which state?

Founder Vernon Rudolph bought his yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans chef and sold to grocery stores at first.

Krispy Kreme's glowing red 'Hot Now' sign means what?

Newer shops use tunnel ovens so they can offer hot donuts all day long.

Dunkin' was founded in 1950 in Quincy, a suburb of which big city?

Bill Rosenberg first called his shop the Open Kettle before changing the name.

Dunkin' sells its donut holes under what name?

They came along after Dunkin' merged into the same company as Baskin-Robbins ice cream.

Which ice cream chain shares a parent company with Dunkin'?

Baskin-Robbins' owner bought Dunkin' in 1990, and the two later formed Dunkin' Brands.

Tim Hortons, Canada's famous donut chain, was co-founded by a man who played which sport?

Tim Horton played in the NHL from 1949 until he died in a car crash in 1974; the first shop opened in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1964.

What does Tim Hortons call its donut holes?

In 2021 the chain even sold 'Tim Biebs' with singer Justin Bieber, and the first Roll Up the Rim prize in 1986 was a box of them.

National Doughnut Day in the United States falls on which day?

The Salvation Army started it in Chicago in 1938 to honor its volunteers who served donuts to soldiers in World War I.

In which country did the Salvation Army's 'Doughnut Lassies' fry donuts for WWI soldiers?

It was hard to bake fresh bread near the front lines, so two volunteers, Margaret Sheldon and Helen Purviance, came up with donuts instead.

In The Simpsons, Homer works as a safety inspector at what kind of place?

Creator Matt Groening picked the plant because it offered plenty of chances for comic chaos.

What color are the sprinkle donuts that Homer Simpson loves?

Real stores have sold them along with other Simpsons foods like Buzz Cola and Krusty-O cereal.

Which cereal company sold 'Homer's Cinnamon Donut Cereal' for a limited time in 2001?

Homer's creator said the only thing his real father shared with Homer was a love of donuts.

Sprinkles are called 'jimmies' in which part of the United States?

In Britain and Australia they are called 'hundreds and thousands', and one Pennsylvania candy company claims to have named jimmies after an employee.

A jelly donut is filled with what?

Germany's Berliner, Poland's paczki and the Jewish sufganiyah are all types of jelly donut.

A German Berliner is a jam donut that is missing what?

One of the first cookbooks ever printed on the Gutenberg press had a recipe for it, called Gefüllte Krapfen.

Which US president gave a famous speech in West Berlin in 1963 that shares its name with a jelly donut?

'Ich bin ein Berliner' means 'I am a Berliner', and Berliner is also the German name for a jam donut.

Sufganiyot, round jelly donuts, are eaten during which Jewish festival?

Fried foods recall the miracle of the Temple oil, and the treat came to Israel with Polish Jewish immigrants.

Polish paczki are traditionally eaten on 'Fat Thursday', the last Thursday before what?

The idea was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house before the fasting season began.

Malasadas, Portuguese fried donuts, are nicknamed after which US state where they're popular?

They came from the island of Madeira and are often called 'Hawaiian donuts'.

Oliebollen, Dutch donuts often stuffed with raisins, are traditionally eaten on which night?

They are dusted with powdered sugar, and some are made with apple instead of raisins.

Loukoumades, the fried dough balls of Greece and Turkey, are usually soaked in what?

They are sometimes dusted with cinnamon, and a similar recipe dates back to 13th-century Arabic cookbooks.

Italian zeppole are traditionally eaten on March 19, the feast day of which figure?

On that day they are sold on many Italian streets and sometimes given as gifts.

Churros, the ridged fried dough sticks from Spain and Portugal, are often dipped in what?

The batter is piped through a star-shaped tip, which gives churros their ridges.

Beignets, square fried dough covered in powdered sugar, are the official state donut of which state?

French colonists brought them to New Orleans in the 1700s; the only other official state donut is Massachusetts' Boston cream.

Which state made a custard-filled donut named after its biggest city the official state donut?

It is one of only two official state donuts in the country, along with Louisiana's beignet.

The Cronut, invented in New York in 2013, is a mash-up of a donut and what?

Pastry chef Dominique Ansel trademarked the name, and people lined up for hours to buy them.

A French cruller is made from choux pastry and pressed out into which shape?

In Europe a cruller is usually twisted, but the North American French cruller is a light, ridged ring.

A Long John donut is what shape?

It can be filled with custard or cream and topped with icing; a maple-iced one is often called a maple bar.

Apple cider donuts get their flavor from apple cider plus which two spices?

They are cake donuts, a fall favorite at apple orchards and farm stands.

Randy's Donuts near the Los Angeles airport is famous for what on top of its building?

Iron Man sits inside it eating donuts in the movie Iron Man 2, and it is near Los Angeles airport.

Which superhero eats a box of Randy's donuts while sitting inside its giant sign in a 2010 movie?

Tony Stark is still wearing his armor at the time; the sign is one of Los Angeles's most iconic landmarks.

Voodoo Doughnut, known for its bacon maple bar, started in 2003 in which city?

Its Portland Crème was even declared the city's 'Official City Doughnut' in 2008.

Which singer was a weekly customer of the Entenmann's bakery on Long Island?

William Entenmann learned baking from his father in Germany and opened his first bakery in Brooklyn in 1898.

Youtiao, long fried dough sticks from China, are usually eaten at breakfast with what?

They are golden brown and often dipped into the milk or congee.

Bomboloni, Italian filled donuts, get their name from a word meaning what?

In some parts of Italy they are simply called 'bombe'.

Picarones, the donut-shaped dessert of Peru, are made mainly from sweet potato and which other vegetable?

They are covered in a syrup made from chancaca, which is solidified molasses.

Bear claw pastries got their name from an ad in a 1914 newspaper in which state?

The Geibel German Bakery in Sacramento ran the ad, and the pastry is shaped a bit like a paw.

In the children's book Homer Price, Uncle Ulysses installs what in his lunchroom?

The machine famously will not stop making donuts, in the fictional town of Centerburg.

Which chain, founded in Houston in 1936, spells its name 'Do-Nuts'?

Lawrence Shipley started it, and its headquarters are still in Houston, Texas.

Winchell's Donut House was founded in 1948 in Temple City, in which state?

Verne Winchell started it, and by 2025 the chain also had shops in Guam and Saipan.

What did Hanson Gregory say he used to punch the first hole in a donut on his ship?

He was 16 and fed up with donuts that were greasy and raw in the middle, and later taught the trick to his mother.

In Japan, an 'an-doughnut' is filled with a sweet paste made from what?

It looks like a German Berliner on the outside, and Japan's Mister Donut chain also made chewy mochi donuts famous.

In Finland a sweet donut is called a 'munkki', a word that also means what?

Finns even have a savoury donut, the lihapiirakka or 'meat pie', made from donut dough and deep-fried.

Hot jam donuts are a tradition at which famous shopping spot in Melbourne, Australia?

The red jam is squirted in before frying, then the hot donut is rolled in sugar or cinnamon sugar straight from the oil.

What do mathematicians call a donut shape?

To a mathematician a coffee mug and a ring donut are the same shape, because each one has exactly one hole.

A baseball 'doughnut' is a heavy ring that slides onto what?

Players swing with the ring on while waiting to hit, so the bat feels lighter and faster once it comes off.

A small spare tire nicknamed a 'donut' should not be driven faster than about what?

It is also called a space-saver and is usually about 15 pounds lighter than a full-sized wheel.

When a winning race driver spins the car in tight circles, the move is called what?

It leaves a circular skid mark on the track and usually a big cloud of tire smoke.

The squashed fruit nicknamed the 'donut peach' is also named after which planet?

It probably came from China, and its other nicknames include UFO peach, bagel peach and hat peach.

In the English dub of the original Pokémon cartoon, rice balls were famously called what?

The dubbing company swapped Japanese foods for things it thought kids abroad would know, even when the picture clearly showed rice.

Arnie, the star of the picture book Arnie the Doughnut, is what kind of donut?

Arnie is bought by a man called Mr. Bing, and a sequel, Bowling Alley Bandit, followed in 2013.

Who wrote If You Give a Dog a Donut, part of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie series?

Her mouse book was rejected nine times before HarperCollins bought it, and the whole series is illustrated by Felicia Bond.

Dunkin' ad character Fred the Baker was famous for saying what?

Actor Michael Vale played Fred from 1981 to 1997, and the words are still printed on the side of Dunkin' boxes.

How did Dunkin' celebrate when it retired Fred the Baker in 1997?

More than six million people showed up for a free donut on September 22, 1997, and Fred also got a parade.

The original 'Dunkin' Donut' had what special feature to help with dipping?

The handled donut was dropped in 2003 because it had to be cut by hand, though it survived in Singapore.

The name Krispy Kreme is a deliberate misspelling of which two words?

The company's logo was drawn by Benny Dinkins, a local architect in Winston-Salem.

In the Krispy Kreme Challenge, runners must eat how many donuts halfway through a 5-mile race?

It started as a dare among a dozen college friends in Raleigh in 2004, and the whole thing has to be finished in under an hour.

Which fast-food chain joined forces with Tim Hortons in 2014?

The deal created the third-largest fast-food company in the world, and Canadians must still make up at least half of Tim Hortons' board.

Tim Hortons' square dutchie donut is studded with what?

The dutchie and the apple fritter were the only two items on the donut menu when the chain opened in 1964.

Mister Donut, started in the US in 1956, now does most of its business on which continent?

Its founder had been the business partner and brother-in-law of Dunkin' Donuts founder Bill Rosenberg before the two split up.

Mister Donut's famous Pon de Ring is shaped like what?

It is chewy because it is made with tapioca flour, and its mascot is a lion called Pon de Lion whose mane looks like the donut.

Chewy mochi donuts get their bouncy texture from flour made from what?

They are said to have about half the calories of a regular cake or yeast donut.

Ted Ngoy, the 'Donut King' who ran dozens of US donut shops, fled to America from which country?

He learned the trade at a Winchell's shop, bought his first store, Christy's Donuts, in 1977, and his story became the film The Donut King.

Spudnuts, sold by a chain founded in 1940, are donuts made with flour from what?

Brothers Al and Bob Pelton got the idea after eating potato donuts in Germany, and had 315 shops by 1968.

Which US president had a BeaverTail pastry named after him when he visited Ottawa in 2009?

The 'Obama Tail' had maple-flavoured eyes and a Nutella letter O; the chain's first stand opened in Ottawa's ByWard Market in 1980.

Donut King, which spells donut the short way, is the biggest donut chain in which country?

It started in Sydney in 1981 and is known for hot cinnamon donuts.

A record donut built from 90,000 donuts was made in Sydney in 2007 to celebrate which film?

It made the Guinness Book of Records as the largest donut ever.

Which country eats the most donuts per person?

It also has more donut shops per person than anywhere else on Earth.

Salvation Army volunteers in World War I fried donuts for the troops in what unusual 'pan'?

More than 250 volunteers went to the army camps in 1917, and they are credited with making donuts popular back home in the United States.

Fasnachts, fried to use up lard and sugar before the fasting season, come from which group?

In parts of Maryland the same treats are called kinklings and are sold only on that one day.

Paczki Day is celebrated in Detroit and other US cities on which day?

Chicago, with its huge Polish community, celebrates twice: on Fat Thursday and again the following week.

Along with plum jam, petals from which flower make a traditional paczki filling?

The Polish word paczki without the little hook under the a means 'packages', which is a different thing entirely.

German pranksters secretly fill some jam donuts with what on April Fools' Day?

The tricked donuts are piled up with the normal ones, so nobody knows who will get the surprise.

In the city of Berlin itself, the jam donut known elsewhere as a Berliner has a name meaning what?

Berliners call them Pfannkuchen, which confuses the rest of Germany, where that word means an actual pancake.

In Wreck-It Ralph, the Sugar Rush police officers Duncan and Wynnchel are what?

Duncan is a round donut voiced by Horatio Sanz, and his partner Wynnchel is a Long John voiced by Adam Carolla.

Old-fashioned donuts are easy to spot because their surface is what?

It is a cake donut, raised with baking powder rather than yeast, which gives it a crisper bite.

Which Canadian city is famous for the Persian, a sweet roll topped with pink berry icing?

Despite the name it has nothing to do with Persia; the icing is made with raspberries or strawberries.

In the Netherlands, chocolate sprinkles called hagelslag are commonly eaten on what?

The name comes from the Dutch word for hail, and the butter goes on first so the sprinkles do not roll off.

Gulab jamun, the syrupy fried balls of India, are made mostly from what?

The balls are soaked in sugar syrup flavoured with cardamom or saffron, and are often served with ice cream.

Jalebi, the Indian sweet soaked in sugar syrup, is fried in what shape?

The oldest known recipe is in a 10th-century Arabic cookbook, and in Iran it is called zoolbia.

A medu vada, often called the Indian donut, is savory and made from what?

It has a hole in the middle just like a donut and is dipped in sambar and chutney instead of sugar.

Mandazi, the fried dough of East Africa's Swahili coast, is often sweetened with what?

When coconut milk goes in they are called mahamri, and they can be breakfast or a dessert dusted with sugar.

Puff-puff, round balls of fried dough, is a favourite snack named in which country?

In Ghana the same snack is called bofrot, and in Togo it is botokoin.

Koeksisters, plaited strips of fried dough, are dunked straight from the fryer into what?

They are an Afrikaner favourite in South Africa, and the town of Orania even has a koeksister monument.

Buñuelos, the crunchy fried treats of Mexico, are traditionally made for which holiday?

In Colombia they are made with a soft white cheese, and in Cuba they are twisted into a figure 8.

Sopaipillas, the puffy fried pastries of New Mexico, are described as being shaped like what?

They puff up hollow in the hot oil, and in northern New Mexico they are even stuffed with beef or chicken and covered with chile.

Which fairground treat is made by pouring batter into hot oil in swirls, then dusting it with sugar?

Pennsylvania Dutch settlers brought the idea to America and gave it its name around 1879.

Sel roti, a crispy ring made from rice flour, is a festival treat in which country?

Families make it for the festivals of Dashain and Tihar, and one professor thinks the recipe is more than 800 years old.

Sata andagi, the round sugary balls of Okinawa, have a name that means 'sugar' plus what?

The same treats are eaten in Palau, where they are known as tama.

Smultringer, Norway's little December donuts sold from stalls, have a name meaning what?

They are usually plain, spiced with cardamom or lemon, and best eaten while still hot.

In the Tour de Donut bike race in Illinois, what happens for every donut a rider eats?

It began in 1989 as a spoof of the Tour de France, and a version is also held in Troy, Ohio.

In Northern Ireland, ring donuts are known by what name?

'Gravy' was an old word for hot cooking oil, and in parts of Scotland ring donuts are called doughrings.

A doughnut cutter stamps out the ring and the hole at the same time using what?

Cutters like this started showing up in home-shopping catalogues by 1870.

In Austria, Carnival-season Krapfen are traditionally filled with which jam?

A Bauernkrapfen is a different shape altogether, with a thick outer ring and a very thin middle.