On July 5th 1937 the Hormel Corporation introduced a new product called Hormel Spiced Ham. The product was a meat product made from shoulder of pork and ham meat, as well as salt, water, sugar, and sodium nitrite. The product was not as great a success as Hormel would have liked, and the blame fell to the name. Hormel Spiced Ham just wasn't catchy enough, so a contest was held to choose a new one. The name that was finally chosen was an acronym for shoulder of pork and ham, SPAM.
In a comedy sketch from Monty Python's flying circus, first broadcast in 1970, SPAM took center stage. In the skit virtually all the food in a diner contains SPAM. The theme is repeated throughout the three and one half minute sketch. It is from the ubiquitous use of SPAM in this sketch that the term SPAM for mass-emails is derived, much to the the disappointment of Hormel.
-Professor Walter
Comments