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Where
the Term "Spam" Comes From
Although,
for most of us, spam is anything but amusing, the origin
of the term can be traced to the popular cult comedy show
'Monty Python's Flying Circus" which aired in Britain
in the late 60s. In fact, the musical "Spamalot"
refers to the same quirky sketch from which the infamous
unsolicited e-mails get their name.
The "Spam sketch" begins in a diner where an
elderly woman (played by a man, in typical Monty Python
style) and a young man are seated. They want to order
something, and ask what is on the menu, but a waitress
(also played by a cast member in drag) tells them that
she has "spam and eggs and spam and etc. and spam,
spam, spam.." The customer comments that she only
wants a particular dish without the spam, and the waitress
says she can't serve it without the spam. Meanwhile, a
chorus of Vikings starts chanting "Spam, Spam, Spam,
Lovely spam or Wonderful spam!' interrupting the dialogue.
The
humor of this sketch captures the essence of e-mail spam
in two ways 1) no matter what you order (i.e. what e-mails
you want to get ) you will always have to get some spam
on your plate too and 2) the chanting of "spam spam!"
or the spam e-mails drowns out your e-mail reading with
distraction and interferes with your regular e-mailing.
SPAM was the only kind of meat that wasn't rationed in
Britain during WWII and having spam foisted on one had
a special resonance with Britons at that time, who were
probably sick of SPAM. This reflects that way in which
people have to put up with unsolicited e-mails that are
forced upon them.
The
term began to be used as early as the 80s when those who
frequented BBS and MUDs used to write "spam"
many times to force another's text off the screen. In
the early days of AOL, insiders on Peoplelink would type
lengthy quotes from the Monty Python sketch as a way of
driving new visitors away.
The
first mainstream usage of "spam" as a term was
cointed by Joel Furr in 1993 when he created experimental
software that released dozens of unsolicited e-mails into
a newsgroup. Spam was first made infamous in 1994 by the
lawyers Laurence Carter and Martha Siegel who advertised
their services in immigration law in bulk to hundreds
of e-mail accounts. "Green Card Spam" was the
subject of the post, a subject line that would guarantee
deletion now, but meant nothing then.
There
are some interesting but false etymologies for "spam".
One suggested that spamming is what happens when the popular
luncheon meat runs into the fan blade. Others suggest
that it is an acronym for Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages.
The Can Spam Act of 1993 created an acronym of its own-
Controlling Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing
act.
Up
until now, Hormel foods have not minded the bandying about
of the name of their prized luncheon meat, although lately
they have objected to phrases hostile to SPAM like "Spam
buster" and "Spam Arrest". To distinguish
their product from the e-mail variety, Hormel insists
on writing SPAM in all capital letters.
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