We get a double dose of sugar, thanks to twin NDDs! | Sam Venable
Donald Trump just made an amazing discovery about the English language, one that’s certain to earn him the Nobel Prize in literature.
During a recent campaign speech in New Hampshire, the former president took credit for being the first to realize that “us” and “U.S.” both contain the letters “u” and “s.” Any day now, I expect him to proudly assert the word “assume” makes an “ass” out of “u” and “me.”
Forgive the braggadocio, but yours truly must be a stable genius on par with The Donald. I, too, have just unearthed a literary treasure. Brace yourself for this blockbuster:
Every year, there is not one National Doughnut Day. There are two of them. One is the first Friday in June. The other is Nov. 5. Today! Take that, end of daylight saving time!
There’s an explanation for this wealth of information. Upon hearing it, every journalism professor I had at the University of Tennessee — not to mention every copy editor who has scrutinized my newspaper and magazine dispatches for the past 55 years — will begin boasting, “I taught Sam Venable everything he knows about investigative reporting.” So brace yourself again:
The NDD on the first Friday in June is National Donut Day.
The NDD on Nov. 5 is National Doughnut Day.
As I wipe sugar-coated crumbs from my lips, let me assure you I’m not making any of this up — although there does appear to be slight disagreement among the sources I found.
For instance, the network CNN followed the “donut” and “doughnut” date dictum to the letter. Conversely, the online magazine Mental Floss spelled both observances “doughnut.” You are free to choose your favorite with the same fervor as deciding between jelly-filled or chocolate-coated.
No matter how it is spelled, the June NDD dates to World War I. It honors volunteers who demonstrated their culinary patriotism by preparing and delivering baked goods to soldiers in France. In 1938, the Salvation Army joined in, officially proclaiming the first Friday in June “National Donut Day” as a fundraiser.
Sometime later, food historian John Bryan Hopkins found mention of a Nov. 5 “National Doughnut Day” in vintage copies of the magazine Ladies’ Home Journal. The pastry industry, not wanting to miss out on such a golden opportunity, apparently added it to the holiday recipe.
Fine by me either way. Or both ways. In fact, if deep-fry wordsmiths wish to sprinkle the caloric calendar with individual official days for “dewnuts” or “dumbnuts” or “dangnuts” or even “Homer Simpson d’ohnuts,” have at it.
I suspect pot-gutted geniuses everywhere, stable or otherwise, would agree.
Sam Venable’s column appears every Sunday. Contact him at sam.venable@outlook.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Sam Venable: We get a double dose of sugar, thanks to twin NDDs!
