July 17, 1912
Erwin Darwin, Charles Darwin's grandson is exploring the dark corners of Zimbabwe, in search of the Elusive doughnut. He is using his grandfather's binoculars and is wearing his grandmothers hand-knitted socks, which he loves despite the fact they are itchy around the toes.
The raindrops approached with great speed and violence rendering
Leaves, branches sodden
A patch of moss made the sound of a sponge whilst a wild boar
Stepped into it.
A waft of all purpose flour permeated the air -or perhaps it was a pâte a choux?
The temperature with the opaque clouds shuttering the light
Struggled to climb above 6 degrees Celsius and Erwin's thick flannel pants and argyle
Sweater with horned buttons failed to keep him warm.
Suddenly a White rhinoceros ran through a small meadow.
Seemingly annoyed by a playful Mylothris Agathina, it swiped at it with its horn
Losing one of 3 doughnuts it was carrying in the process. The Rhino turned towards Erwin Darwin
-Perhaps picking up the scent of a human- and ran off.
Erwin was aghast: It was most likely a batch of glazed donuts but one could not rule out
Jelly donuts as they have been sighted as far as the Serengeti.
For some long minutes Erwin lay frozen in his observation post contemplating.
He recollected Charles Darwin had written in "The Origin of Species" page 172,
"I can see no good reason to doubt that these so called "doughnuts", through thousands of generations, have evolved from their original square and glazed form, in my best judgement, not inure to jelly stuffing. I humbly question their standard of good taste, as their roundness may have a sexual, marked effect, rather than a good bite."
Galapagos , March 13, 1835
For many years Erwin thought that Charles was referring to a hybrid cross-species reproduction, but he could never understand what species this might be.
A strong shiver brought Erwin back to his senses, he got up and ran to the meadow to examine the doughnut and that evening, while sailing on the Bloodhound, he wrote:
"It was clearly a jelly doughnut, and I had never seen one with such a rounded hole in all my travels.
It had a few scratch marks from the Rhino's horn, and it possibly had belonged to a Baker's dozen. A drop of jelly had trickled out from its thin skin. Its roundness was sublime. No crumbs.
45cm in diameter and 10 cm thick. It is possible I have found the missing link. Sitting next to this
doughnut, breathing the fresh air, feeling at one in the wilderness, I have never felt such joy. "
Erwin Darwin, lake Tanganyika, July 17, 1912
45cm in diameter and 10 cm thick. It is possible I have found the missing link. Sitting next to this
doughnut, breathing the fresh air, feeling at one in the wilderness, I have never felt such joy. "
Erwin Darwin, lake Tanganyika, July 17, 1912
As we know, Erwin Darwin's foundational study, "Doughnuts, Holes and Survival" was never finished. His Ship, the Bloodhound, sank in the middle of the night. Only one crew member survived who saved some of Erwin's notes. One page entitled, "Dunking" was blank. This unpublished manuscript was written 35 years before the first Dunkin Donuts opened in Quincy Massachusetts.
