Sprinkles are small pieces of confectionery used as an often colorful decoration or to add texture to desserts such as brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts or ice cream.

The Dictionary of American Regional English defines them as "tiny balls or rod-shaped bits of candy used as a topping for ice-cream, cakes and other."

For example, hundreds and thousands is the most popular denotation used in United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to refer to nonpareils, a type of sprinkles.

Dr. Farber co-founded the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, as well as a charity, The Jimmy Fund, named after one of his child patients.

After much research and venture, Gerard de Vries and Venz created the first machine to produce the tiny cylindrical treats.

(This reference is also transferred to the Finnish word for sprinkles, "Koristerakeet" which literally means "decorative hail").

[18][19] However, advertisements for chocolate sprinkles as a confection exist in the United States as far back as 1921,[20] predating Just Born by two years.

[4] "Jimmies", in this sense, are usually considered to be used as an ice cream topping, while sprinkles are for decorating baked goods, but the term can be used for both.

[21] The sprinkles known as nonpareils in French are tiny opaque spheres that were traditionally white, but that now come in many colors; in Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, these are known as "hundreds and thousands".

The sprinkle-type of dragée (also known as a "cachou") is like a large nonpareil with a metallic coating of silver, gold, copper, or bronze.

Sprinkles generally require frosting, ice cream, or some other sort of sticky material in order to stick to the desired food surface.