Ding Dong facts for kids
A Ding Dong is a yummy chocolate cake snack. It's made by Hostess Brands in the United States. In Canada, it's called a King Don by Vachon Inc.. For a short time, some places in the U.S. called it a Big Wheel. Ding Dongs have been made since 1967, except for a short break in 2013.
It's a round cake, about three inches wide and an inch tall. It looks a bit like a hockey puck. Inside, it has a creamy white filling. The whole cake is covered with a thin layer of chocolate glaze. Ding Dongs used to be wrapped in thin aluminum foil. This helped keep the chocolate from melting, especially when packed in lunchboxes!
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The Story of the Ding Dong
The Ding Dong is like other cream-filled cakes, such as the Jos. Louis from Arcade Vachon, which came out even earlier. Hostess started selling the Ding Dong in 1967. They named it "Ding Dong" because of a TV ad. This ad showed a ringing bell.
Hostess Brands had some financial trouble in 2012 and stopped making snacks. But in 2013, new owners bought Hostess. They started making Ding Dongs again on July 15, 2013.
Why the Name Changed (and Changed Back!)
For a while, Hostess sold these snacks as "Big Wheels" on the East Coast of the U.S. This was to avoid confusion with another similar snack called "Ring Dings" made by Drake's Cakes. Ring Dings were already popular there.
In 1987, Drake's and Hostess's parent company (Continental Baking Company) briefly joined together. This solved the "Ring Ding" and "Ding Dong" name problem for a short time. But when the companies separated, Hostess had to stop using the "Ding Dongs" name where "Ring Dings" were sold.
So, they used a similar name: "King Dons." This lasted until 1998. That year, Interstate Bakeries Corporation (which had joined with Hostess's parent company) bought Drake's. After that, the Hostess snack was sold as "Ding Dongs" all over the United States. However, it was still called "King Dons" in Canada.
Meet the Ding Dong Characters!
To help advertise Ding Dongs, Hostess created fun cartoon characters. The main one was King Ding Dong. He was a Ding Dong cake with a crown and a scepter. He was like other Hostess characters, such as Captain Cupcake, Happy Ho Ho, Twinkie the Kid, Fruit Pie the Magician, and Chipper Brownie.
Where the snack was called "King Dons," the character was also known as "King Don." In places that used the "Big Wheels" name, the character was once an Indian chief called "Chief Big Wheel."
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