There are two things I have been a fan of for as long as I can remember:

• Snack cakes: my mom packed desserts in my school lunchbox as a kid—on good days, the sweet treat would be a pudding cup, but on great days, either a Twinkie or Little Debbie morsel
• Fun facts: I’ve never been on a game show, though I’ve made it to onscreen tests for both Jeopardy and the new Trivial Pursuit (hosted by LeVar Burton!), but I’m absolutely dangerous at bar quizzes

• Senior Editor Liz Parker Kuhn suggested The Accidentals, from her home state of Michigan—the acoustic guitar and harmonies soothed my soul immediately (thanks, Liz)
• Senior Art Director Sarah Zagacki offered up Lady Gaga’s newest album Mayhem (solid choice—in true Gaga fashion, it’s all bangers, especially “Abracadabra”), another solid suggestion.
• Group Publisher Doug Peckenpaugh shared his fondness for Side One of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, saying the songs remind us that “We face continual challenges, but if we remember to keep things in perspective, always with a heart that seeks to give back, everything will work out all right.”

• Senior Editor Liz Parker Kuhn suggested The Accidentals, from her home state of Michigan—the acoustic guitar and harmonies soothed my soul immediately (thanks, Liz)
• Senior Art Director Sarah Zagacki offered up Lady Gaga’s newest album Mayhem (solid choice—in true Gaga fashion, it’s all bangers, especially “Abracadabra”), another solid suggestion.
• Group Publisher Doug shared his fondness for Side One of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, saying the songs remind us that “We face continual challenges, but if we remember to keep things in perspective, always with a heart that seeks to give back, everything will work out all right.”

• Work hard: Nathan showed up every danged day to Highland’s facilities, industry events, and wherever else he was needed and gave 100%
• Make connections: Rather than just sticking to the duties of his job description, he made a point to bond with Highland employees at every level, on a professional and personal level
• Build a network: A fixture at scores of industry events (American Society of Baking, American Bakers Association, and others), he didn’t just show up—he connected with producers, suppliers, execs, and people at every level as friends.

Those two things have merged to make me somewhat of an expert on all things Little Debbie. True, I did a bit of research for the cover story on the McKee Foods-owned brand we ran in February, but most of this seems to have just sunk into my brain via osmosis. Outside of my job as chief editor of a bakery-centered publication, the information is mostly not all that useful. A few weeks ago, I told another shopper standing by the Little Debbie endcap at my local Jewel store, “Little Debbie is a real person!” and by the way they nodded then backed away slowly, I don’t think they were that impressed.

However, I did get to showcase my knowledge of the snack cakes named after young Debbie McKee-Fowler during a November live-lit performance, 20x2 Chicago. The show involves 20 performers each taking two minutes to present their answer to that evening’s question (in this case, “What Do You Know?”). Since I’m an aficionado of the cakes and had just prepped for an interview with members of the team about the celebrations McKee has planned around the 40th anniversary of their popular Christmas Tree Cakes, I decided to share what I knew—here’s some of the facts I imparted:

• McKee-Fowler is real, still kicking, and while retired from her job, still serves as board chair
• The Oatmeal Crème Pie is the most popular Little Debbie product in several states, including California, Texas, and my home state of Illinois
• The best product in the entire lineup is the Cosmic Brownie; that’s not a fact, per se, but in my opinion, its superiority is fairly clear
• Little Debbie sells about 200 million cartons of bakery snacks each year

Apparently I’m not the only one who’s got LDSC facts on the brain. Fellow 20x2 presenter Felix Jung sent a pic of a Christmas Tree Cakes display he’d spotted at a Meijer’s and said, “I had to fight the urge to yell out, ‘She's a real person!’”

That brings me to my question for you: what fun facts about snacks, bakery goods, and candy are floating around in your brain? If you’re someone who’s been kicking around the food industry for a while, I bet you’ve got tons of such trivia floating around your noggin, and I’d love to hear it. Email me at spinnerj@bnpmedia.com and maybe your wisdom will be featured in a future article. Thanks for reading! SF&WB