How junk email became known as "spam"

As most of us know,SPAM is a canned "mystery meat", made mainly

out of pork (or so the Hormel company claim.)

(You could not PAY me to eat it-from the smell alone I nearly

lost my stomach contents on a fishing trip); it's also the

name of a very well-known routine by British comedian group

"Monty Python"; "spam" - inspired by this particular comedy

routine on the British television series Monty Python's

Flying Circus, where the word is repeated incessantly.

In the routine, a bunch of Vikings are eating in a restaurant

that served only Spam! and began singing "Spam, spam, spam;

Spam, spam spam!" over and over, completely annoying the other

diners and making conversation impossible.

So when junk email began to make its creeping

nasty debute, long before email was so popular,

the majority of it was posted through newsgroups.

As one dude said, "This large amount of unwanted

crap made normal discussion impossible which

reminded people of the Monty Python bit about

"SPAM". TaDa! It must have seemed catchy then

because everybody started calling these newsgroup

junk mail "spam."

It got SO bad that the spam drowned out any thread

of fruitful transferance of information, having to

wade knee deep through the "spam", no enjoyment to be

had... Hence - the drowning out of conversation. It

really is a bit of an odd tale I think!

It gets more and more interesting! Hormel Foods, the makers

of this "canned food product consisting especially of pork

formed into a solid block" (bluck!) that Hormel itself

accepted this explanation (no small wonder!)and don't object in

the slightest to the term (so long as it's spelled in lowercase

letters to differentiate it from their trademark). I guess they

thought to try and keep a shread of..ummm (what?) dignity!?

I suppose if Hormel had minded, we would all be calling

junk email...ummmm...junk email??? OR "unsolicited

commercial email" or UCE. But that's not nearly as

catchy...I guess...Personally, even though it has a

negative conotation, seems to me to be a massive

amount of free advertising for Hormel - Spam is a

household word for pete sake!

Check THIS out!

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Dictionary.com

1.Trademark. a canned food product consisting

esp. of pork formed into a solid block. -noun

2.(lowercase) a disruptive, esp. commercial

message posted on a computer network or sent as

e-mail. -verb (used with object)

3.(lowercase) to send spam to. -verb (used without

object)

4.(lowercase) to send spam.

[Origin: (def. 1) sp(iced) + (h)am;

(other defs.) 1990-95; referring to a comedy

routine on Monty Python's Flying Circus, Brit.

TV series]

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source -

Share This spam (spām)

n. Unsolicited e-mail, often of a commercial

nature, sent indiscriminately to multiple mailing

lists, individuals, or newsgroups; junk e-mail.

tr.v. spammed, spam·ming, spams

To send unsolicited e-mail to.

To send (a message) indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals,

or newsgroups.

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Wordnet:

spam

noun 1. a canned meat made largely from pork

2. unwanted e-mail (usually of a commercial nature sent out in bulk)

verb 1. send unwanted or junk e-mail

Wild isn't it??? Here's More Below that gets even better!!

The Famous Monty Python "Spam" song

Who would have ever guessed!?!?!

Online Etymology Dictionary 

spam 

Proprietary name registered by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in U.S., 

1937; probably a conflation of spiced ham. Soon extended to 

other kinds of canned meat. In the sense of "Internet junk mail" 

it was coined by Usenet users after March 31, 1993, when 

Usenet administrator Richard Depew inadvertently posted the 

same message 200 times to a discussion group.

The term had been used in online text games, and it was from

the comedy routine in British TV show "Monty Python's Flying 

Circus" where a restaurant's menu items all devolve into spam.

Spam Spam Spam Spam Spammity spam 

Monty Python Spam skit that started the Term for

E-mail Spam. www.maildr.com...Monty Python Spam 

E-mail funny ....Watch This Video!!