Hostess Twinkie History Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1930

Twinkies were first made by The Continental Baking Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. Continental also made "Wonder Bread" and had a snack line called Hostess. There are some citations that the Twinkie was invented in 1933, but the Hostess website says 1930.

Answer: James A. Dewar

A Continental baker named James A. Dewar developed the idea for the Twinkie. The pans and machines that were used to make a strawberry creme filled shortcake were unused when the strawberry season was over. He used the 'ladyfinger' shaped pans to shape the original Twinkie.

Answer: Banana

The original filling was a banana creme. The original price of the Twinkie was a nickel for a package of two. It takes more than 40,000 miles of plastic wrap to wrap a year's production of Twinkies.

Answer: Bananas were rationed.

Bananas were rationed during the war. Hostess had to come up with a different filling. They switched to vanilla creme and it was so popular they never changed back.

Answer: From the Twinkle Toe Shoe Company.

Dewar drove past a billboard for shoes made by the "Twinkle Toe Shoe Company". He liked the name and shortened it to Twinkies. Hostess' bakeries produce about 1,000 Twinkies every minute.

Answer: Howdy Doody

Twinkies popularity soared in great part due to Hostess sponsoring the 'Howdy Doody Show'. Hostess estimates that it's machinery can fill 52,000 Twinkies an hour with creme.

Answer: Twenty-five days

Twinkies have a shelf-life of twenty-five days, although the stock is usually rotated every five to seven days by company salesmen. The recipe for the Twinkie contains no dairy products, which prolongs its freshness. The rumors of Twinkies lasting forever are not true.

Answer: Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton thought it should go in the White House millennium time capsule. He thought it represented an "object of enduring American symbolism". It may have been more symbolic of Clinton's dietary choices. Remember, he often stopped by fast food franchises on his daily jog.

Answer: True

Twinkies are frozen, dipped into batter then deep fried. According to Hostess...Christopher Sell, from Rugby, England, invented the "fried Twinkie" in 2001 at his restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. CNN claims it was invented by Chris Mullen in a Brooklyn restaurant.

Answer: False

On November 27, 1978, White a former San Francisco city supervisor shot and killed Mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk. It is an 'urban legend' that the Twinkie was his defense for the murders. Neither White or his defense team ever claimed that 'junk food' caused his alleged imbalance. The term 'Twinkie defense' is used when criminals claim that an outside influence was responsible for their actions.


In 1995 Rice University (Houston, Texas) students performed some very strange experiments on Hostess Twinkies. To see the weirdness go to: http://www.twinkiesproject.com/