September 10, 2010Daven Hiskey
Today I found out how the word “spam” came to mean “junk message” or “junk mail”.
While some have suggested that this was because SPAM (as in the Hormel meat product) is sometimes satirized as “fake meat”, thus spam messages are “fake messages”, this potential origin, while plausible enough on the surface, turns out to be not correct at all.
The real origin of the term comes from a 1970 Monty Python’s Flying Circus skit. In this skit, all the restaurant’s menu items devolve into SPAM. When the waitressrepeatsthe word SPAM, a group of Vikings in the corner sing “SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, lovely SPAM! Wonderful SPAM!”, drowning out other conversation, until they are finally told to shut it.
Exactly where this first translated to internet messages of varying type, such as chat messages, newsgroups, etc, isn’t entirely known as it sort of happened all over the place in a very short span of years, in terms of the name being applied to these messages. It is, however, well documented that the users in each of these first instances chose the word “spam” referring to the 1970 Monty Python sketch where SPAM singing was drowning out conversation and SPAM itself was unwanted and popping up all over the menu.
Some examples of these first instances of unsolicited/unwanted messages being referred to as spam:
- First documented case among Usenet users was March 31, 1993. This is often incorrectly stated to be the first usage of the term spam as referring to spam messages. This first Usenet case came when Richard Depew, who had been playing with some moderation software, accidentally ended up posting around 200 duplicate messages in a row to news.admin.policy newsgroup. The first person to call this spam is thought to be Joel Furr on March 31, 1993. Depew himself when he apologized referred to his messages as spam.
- A more likely “first use” of the word spam, referring to certain electronic messages, comes from MUDs (multi-user-dungeons). This was a sort of real time multi-person shared environment; a somewhat primitive version of The Sims Online or Second Life and the like. In it, users could chat and interact with other people, locations, and objects, as well as create objects and share them with the community. Basically a really advanced chat room. The name MUD comes from the fact that it reminded people of certain aspects of Dungeons and Dragons. In any event, spamming was used here to refer to a few different things including: flooding the computer with random data; “spam the database” by flooding it with new objects; and flooding a chat session with a ton of unwanted text. Basically, anything that had to do with filling other member’s accounts with unwanted electronic junk. One of the earliest documented uses of the word spam from MUDders comes from 1990 when they were, ironically enough, discussing the origins of the word “spam” as referring to electronic junk messages. Undocumented sources say it had been around quite a bit before that among MUDders, which is evidenced by the content of the documented message.
- Others say that the term originated on Bitnet’s Relay, which was a very early chat system in the 1980s. Supposedly, users would occasionally come on and annoy other users with unwanted text, including the actual SPAM SPAM SPAM song from Monty Python.
- Another similar chat system on the TRS-80 also reported the same phenomenon and also called it spam. Both these latter two chat system origins are not documented, but numerous former users of these systems have stated they remember this term being use commonly among users of these systems.
spam Spam SPam SPAm SPAM SPAM SPAM, lovely SPAM; Wonderful SPAM…
Bonus Facts:
- In the early days of the internet, spam was significantly more annoying than it is today, not just because of the lack of effective filters back then, but because of the extremely slow internet connections. Even just anASCIIart spam picture sent a few times in a row could take an enormous amount of time to download with often no real way for the end user to get around this except to wait it out or disconnect.
- Also in the early days of chat rooms, it was a common tactic among chatters to use large blocks of meaningless text to annoy other groups. For instance, Star Trek chatters would invade a Star Wars chat room and post large amounts of random text, making it impossible for the Star Wars people to talk. NERD-FIGHT!!! 🙂
- Around the same time the term spam became popular among Usenet groups, it also spread to refer to email spam, which quickly dominated the world of spam and still does to this day. Early spam bots simply harvested emails from Usenet newsgroup messages, which gave them extremely large email lists to work from.
- IRC (Internet Relay Chat) was named after Bitnet’s Relay.
- The earliest documented commercial spam message is often incorrectly cited as the 1994 “Green Card Spam” incident. However, the actual first documented commercial spam message was for a new model of Digital Equipment Corporation computers and was sent on ARPANET to 393 recipients by Gary Thuerk in 1978.
- The famed Green Card Spam incident was sent April 12, 1994 by a husband and wife team of lawyers, Laurance Canter and Martha Siegal. They bulk posted, on Usenet newsgroups, advertisementsfor immigration law services. The two defended their actions citing free speech rights. They also later wrote a book titled “How to Make a Fortune on the Information Superhighway“, which encouraged and demonstrated to people how to quickly and freely reach over 30 million users on the Internet by spamming.
- Before it was called “spamming”, as referring to unsolicited messages in a chat or forum or the like, the generally used terms for these actions were “flooding” and “trashing”.
- Cisco Systems, in 2009, released the following numbers for the origins of spam by country in descending order: Brazil at 7.7%; USA at 6.6%; India at 3.6%; South Korea at 3.1%; Turkey at 2.6%; Vietnam at 2.5%; China at 2.4%; Poland at 2.4%; Russia at 2.3%; Argentina at 1.5%. Surprisingly, you have to go all the way down to number 91 on the list before you get to Nigeria.
- Of all email spam, about 73% is attempting to steal the user’s identity in some way (phishing), including possible bank information or gaining enough information to open new credit accounts from the user.
- Of the 90 trillion emails sent in 2009, 81% were spam. That amounts to about 200 billion spam emails sent every day.
- Though not called spam, back then, telegraphic spam messages were extremely common in the 19th century in the United States particularly. Western Union allowed telegraphic messages on its network to be sent to multiple destinations. Thus, wealthy American residents tended to get numerous spam messages through telegrams presenting unsolicited investment offers and the like. This wasn’t nearly as much of a problem in Europe due to the fact that telegraphy was regulated by post offices in Europe.
- Spam, referring to messages, rather than the food product, was first added to a major English dictionary in the New Oxford Dictionary of English in 1998. It defined spam as “Irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of newsgroups or users.”
- SPAM, as made by Geo. A. Hormel & Co. was originally registered as a trademark in 1937, being a conflation of “spiced ham”, which was the original name. The name “SPAM” was chosen from entries in a naming contest at Hormel. Specifically, the name was suggested by Kenneth Daigneau, who was the brother of a then Hormel Vice president. He was given $100 prize for winning the naming contest.
- If you are wondering why I’m continually capitalizing all the letters in the food product SPAM, it is because, according to the official Hormel trademark guidelines, SPAM, as referring to the food product, should be spelled with all capital letters. They also stipulate it should always be used as an adjective as in “SPAM meat”, but I’m ignoring that one and just calling it SPAM. 🙂
- Hormel was able to successfully defend their trademark of SPAM by limiting it to this capitalized version; thus the more prevalent usage and meaning and spelling “spam” and “Spam” referring to internet messages, doesn’t conflict with their trademark. Initially, they unsuccessfully defended their trademark by including “Spam”, but lost that case and resorted to “SPAM”. Hormel states that “Ultimately, we are trying to avoid the day when the consuming public asks, ‘Why would Hormel Foods name its product after junk email?”
- Other backronyms surrounding SPAM are: “Something Posing As Meat”; “Specially Processed Artificial Meat”; “Stuff, Pork and Ham”; “Spare Parts Animal Meat”; and “Special Product of Austin Minnesota”.
- Backronyms surround internet spam include: “stupid pointless annoying messages” and “shit posing as mail”.
- When the US offered the UK citizens affected by WWII SPAM, while they struggled to rebuild their agricultural base, the British citizens assumed it was anacronymand they backronymed it to “Specially Processed American Meats”.
- SPAM is a canned, precooked meat product (originally ham, but now SPAM from a variety of meats is available).
- Austin, Minnesota is known as “SPAM town USA”, not for internet spam, but for the fact that the town produces all of the food product SPAM sold in North America, South America, and Australia. SPAM sold in the UK is produced in Denmark by the company Tulip, who Hormel has licensed its production out to.
- As of 2007, over seven billion cans of SPAM have been sold.
- Hawaii, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands eat the most SPAM per capita in the United States, with an average of about 16 tins per yeareaten per person.
- Hawaii, Guam, and CNMI, all have McDonald’s restaurants that serve SPAM. Burger Kings in Hawaii also serve SPAM since 2007 to better compete with the McDonalds there.
- SPAM is also nicknamed “The Hawaiian Steak”, due to its extreme popularity there.
- The term spam today is poised to take another slight shift in meaning. It is nowbecomingcommon for people to refer to anyunsolicited/unwanted advertisements, messages, or telemarketer calls as spam, even if the former two aren’t electronically based.
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tagged with etymology, junk mail, language, spam
39 comments
Fairportfan
May 18, 20131:58 pm
The term “cookie”, meaning a bit of data a website leaves on your computer to help in tracking you and your use of the site, is short for “magic cookie”.
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It probably derives from the magic cookies Fred Bird got stoned on in Dan O’Neill’s 1960s/70 hippie comic “”Odd Bodkins”.
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The first use of the term “virus” for a program that attacks computers and spreads it to others is in David Gerrold’s 1971 SF novel “When HARLIE was One”.
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The earliest reported use of the term “worm” meaning a program that attacks computers was in John Brunner’s SF novel “Shockwave Rider”.(Video) How the Word SPAM came to mean Junk MessageWow, that’s quite the back story behind the word spam lol. I enjoyed the history lesson it brought about some feelings of nostalgia.
Archangel
December 5, 201312:29 pm
Nonsense. In the early days of the internet it was possible to send email to everyone on the system. These system-wide emails were referred to as “SPAM”, meaning Send People Alotta Mail. The monty python story is an urban legend.
Daven Hiskey
December 5, 20132:24 pm
(Video) How the Word SPAM came to mean Junk Message@archangel: sources?
Fairportfan
December 5, 20136:45 pm
Bull.
That’s like the Roman-chariot-ruts-cused-railroad-track-width.
The Python etymology is almost certainly correct.
Raven21633
April 1, 201410:05 am
I have agree that the Python etymology is the correct one.
I ran a dial-up BBS from Nov. 1988 to Oct. 2000 and remember the term (and the admonitions) on FidoNet (a point-to-point email delivery system) back in the day.InformedDad
February 15, 20176:50 am
Yep. Agreed. I ran a dial-up BBS in North Dallas starting in 1987. I remember it well.
(Video) Why Is Junk Email Called Spam?
Boston_guy
May 23, 20168:43 pm
Nonsense. The term spam for junk mail did derive from the Monty Python skit.
Raven21633
April 1, 20149:56 am
The TRS-80 (or Trash 80 as we sometimes called it), was a computer system built by Tandy corporation and sold through Radio Shack.
It was not, in and of it’s-self, a “chat system”.
Khall
September 6, 201512:18 pm
Thank you. Yes, I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. The TSR-80 was a computer.
(Video) The etymology of SPAM
Nils K. Hammer
March 10, 20158:27 pm
I never saw any plausible connection to Monty Python other than a fondness for silliness. There was a CMU online discussion where it was used, based on the movie “The Right Stuff”, so that would be 1983. The astronauts didn’t want to be non-productive “spam in a can”. This at the time only referred to posts that don’t further the argument, such as a “me too”.
I wanted to call the bad stuff “Persistant Unsolicited Comercial Email” or PUCE. It didn’t catch on.
dave
September 19, 201711:05 pm
I know nobody is going to believe me but, in the old days of BBS, dial up and VHS tapes I borrowed my brothers Monty Python tape. I was in college at the time and had a 1200 baud modem. At the time AOL was mailing out anybody a floppy of their BBS client software. (which as super easy to hack) After watching the video I went on to the (I believe) the Star Trek chat room on AOL with the chat name davidmidi. And asked what is SPAM? Simple question. The answer was meat. I then asked what does it stand for? The room went wild with decoding for the acronyms. Shortly after people just typed in spam over and over again copy any pasting until the room could not be used. It quickly ran over into other chat rooms on BBS’s all over the world. Like I said you do not have to believe me but it is the truth.
Tim
September 12, 20203:51 am
I remember a odd little Mac gamelet that bounced a picture of a can Spam around the screen along with a sound clip of the word Spam from Monty Python. When you clicked on the can it disappeared only to pop up again.
(Video) The SPAM Job
FAQs
Why are junk messages called spam? ›
1993 First use of the term spam was for a post from USENET by Richard Depew to news. admin. policy, which was the result of a bug in a software program that caused 200 messages to go out to the news group. The term “spam” itself was thought to have come from the spam skit by Monty Python's Flying Circus.
How did spam get its name? ›It stands for 'spiced ham' and was a name suggested in a competition launched by the Geo. A. Hormel Company in 1937, to find a name for their new product, which they described as 'The Miracle Meat', and marketed as a health food.
What does spam actually stand for? ›There have been many ideas about what the word "Spam" means. The Hormel Foods Corporation once said that it means "Shoulder of Pork and Ham", but in some dictionaries "Spam" means "spiced ham". Members of staff at the SPAM museum say it stands for Specially Produced American Meat.
What is the difference between junk and spam? ›At the core, both spam and junk mail represent messages that clutter the user's inbox. While junk mail often comes from opt-in services, such as from businesses, spam refers to messages that the user did not opt to receive.
Who founded spam? ›It was the invention of Jay Hormel, son of George Hormel who founded the Hormel company, which pioneered canned pork products in Austin, Minn., in the late 1920s.
Where was spam invented? ›SPAM is a canned lunch meat product that first hit shelves in 1937. It was created in Austin, Minnesota by the manufacturers Hormel Foods. Toward the end of the Great Depression, SPAM helped fill a huge need for inexpensive meat products.
When was spam first made? ›Hormel Food 's Spam was introduced to consumers in 1937. American soldiers soon brought the canned luncheon meat around the world, delivering it to people in war-torn countries facing food shortages. But times have changed since Spam was introduced more than 80 years ago.
Was spam created for the military? ›While housewives in the late '30s soon grew accustomed to the idea of unrefrigerated meat, the brand didn't make its global mark until World War II, when the U.S. military purchased a variety of canned meats — not exclusively Hormel's Spam brand — to feed troops overseas.
Is spam in English? ›Spam is a cooked meat product made from pork and ham. To spam people or organizations means to send unwanted emails to a large number of them, usually as advertising. Spam is also a noun.
What is spam made out of? ›What sets Spam apart from other products that are made from chopped meats that are cooked and pressed together (we're thinking about scrapple): Spam is made from pork shoulder and pork ham, with no other scraps from the hog. Pork shoulder is considered a high-quality cut of pork today, although in 1937, it was not.
What is the slogan for spam? ›
TASTE YOU CAN HEAR. TASTE YOU CAN HEAR.
Is Gmail Junk same as spam? ›The spam folder is the storage space in your email account for unwanted emails or for emails that fail to reach your inbox and are flagged as spam by email service providers (ESPs). It is also known as the "Bulk Folder" or "Junk Folder".
Is junk the same as spam on iPhone? ›Most junk mail (spam) sent to your @icloud.com address or its aliases is automatically identified and moved to your Junk folder. If you receive unwanted email, you can manually mark it as junk.
What happens when you mark a text message as spam? ›Your report might create a separate “Spam reporting” conversation. This will send a copy of the spammer's number plus the most recent text message to your mobile carrier. These conversations may be spam and blocked automatically. It's only an option to send spam reports.
Why does spam exist? ›Spammers are generally in it for monetary gain, some can also just be trying to spread miss-information or their own agendas.
How does spam save the world? ›Homemakers readily embraced Spam, and it became a popular lunch and breakfast meat. But sales really took off during World War II. Over 150 million pounds were used in the war effort, making Spam a cornerstone of troops' diets. (Soldiers also used Spam's grease to lubricate their guns and waterproof their boots.)
Where is spam most popular? ›Minnesota may not have a lot in common with Hawaii, but Hormel's famous canned meat indelibly links the two states. Hormel has even created new flavors — teriyaki and Portuguese sausage — specifically for the Hawaiian market. Whether Minnesotans care to admit it or not, Hawaii is the true capital of Spam.
Why is Spam so popular? ›Since then, Spam has become a sought-after product in many countries around the world, especially those that have faced economic hardship. Because it's cheap, filling and has a long shelf life, it addresses a real need.
How many kinds of Spam are there? ›The line has expanded to include 15 flavors of Spam, ranging from the obvious (Spam Lite, which promises less fat, sodium, and calories) to the obscure (Spam Tocino, which is flavored after the popular Filipino bacon).
Did soldiers eat Spam? ›As Spam became an integral part of the GI diet, troops gave the meat a variety of nicknames like “ham that didn't pass its physical,” “meatloaf without basic training,” and “Special Army Meat.” The grease from the luncheon meat was used to lubricate weapons and waterproof boots, and the empty cans could be filled with ...
Is Spam still popular? ›
Today, younger generations see this spiced ham in a can as a nostalgic dish for older generations, but truth be told, Spam is still devoured and enjoyed around the world.
Is Spam still made? ›Today, there are 15 different SPAM varieties, from Classic to Teriyaki to Jalapeño. Love it or hate it, you can't deny that it's everywhere. Over eight billion SPAM products have been sold worldwide, and in 2016, a SPAM museum opened in its birthplace, Austin, Minnesota.
How did ww2 soldiers eat Spam? ›Ultimately, after eating Spam for three “squares” a day, many service members began to tire of the potted meat. Soldiers would write to Hormel to express their distaste with the food.
Is Spam popular in Russia? ›A quarter (24.77%) of all spam emails sent in 2021 originated from Russia, with more than half (56%) of all emails being spam messages.
Why does Hawaii like Spam so much? ›The true root of the island's love for SPAM® products goes back to World War II, when the luncheon meat was served to GIs. By the end of the war, SPAM® products were adopted into local culture, with Fried SPAM® Classic and rice becoming a popular meal.
What is another word for spam? ›Unsolicited, unwanted, impersonal email.
What is spam example? ›The definition of spam is to send out unsolicited mass marketing emails. When you send a million people an email to try to make money online by selling them a worthless product, this is an example of a time when you spam.
Does SPAM expire? ›Since spam has no expiration date, it can go for many years without spoiling. The only thing that will be affected is its quality and taste. However, poor storage, exposure to high temperatures and dents in the can will cause spam to spoil faster.
Why is SPAM so salty? ›The reason that Spam tastes so salty is because it has that spam has a lot of salt in it. An article on Healthline.com says that the original Spam recipe has 32% of the recommended daily allowance for sodium. Blame the inclusion of so much salt on the need to create a product that has a long shelf life.
Can dogs eat SPAM? ›The short answer is no, dogs can't eat Spam safely. Spam is made from pork, which isn't toxic for dogs on its own. But Spam also contains such high levels of sodium and fat, plus a number of preservatives and additives, that it's not a safe food to feed to your dog on any sort of regular basis.
Is junk folder same as spam folder? ›
Also called a "junk folder" or "junk mailbox," spam folders are created by mail servers as well as by the user's email program. In some mail programs, the messages in the spam folder can be sorted and viewed by the spam filter's rating, which is a percentage of confidence that the message is junk.
Why is my Gmail emails going to spam? ›Don't impersonate other domains or senders without permission. This practice is called spoofing, and it can cause Gmail to mark the messages as spam. To help prevent valid messages from being marked as spam: Messages that have a From address in the recipient's Contacts list are less likely to be marked as spam.
How do I permanently block spam in Gmail? ›...
Block an email address
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- Open the message.
- In the top right, click More .
- Click Block [sender].
- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
- Open the message.
- In the top right of the message, tap More .
- Tap Block [sender].
Blocking is futile
Trying to stop spam by blocking the sender is futile because spammers keep changing who the email appears to be from. The better approach is to mark spam as spam when it appears in your inbox. If it's showing up in your spam folder, the system is already working properly.
In Google Mail, messages are permanently deleted 30 days after they are placed in the Trash or Spam. Google has an automatic filter that automatically marks emails from suspicious senders as spam, sending them to your spam folder.
How do I know if a number is spam? ›Your phone number should show up on the Registry the next day, but it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop. You can check whether your number is on the Registry at DoNotCall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the number you want to verify.
Why am I getting so many spam texts all of a sudden 2022? ›A report from spam-blocking app RoboKiller found that spam texts increased 58 percent in 2021 from the previous year. This big jump probably happened because scammers are realizing that people are too familiar with phone scams to fall for them at the same rate, RoboKiller Vice President Giulia Porter said.
How do I delete spam from my phone? ›Android: How to quickly block spam SMS - YouTube
Is junk the same as spam on Iphone? ›Most junk mail (spam) sent to your @icloud.com address or its aliases is automatically identified and moved to your Junk folder. If you receive unwanted email, you can manually mark it as junk.
Is junk mail the same as spam in Gmail? ›
Junk email is the electronic equivalent to paper junk mail. Junk email is legitimate offers from real companies. You may not want it, and you may find it annoying, but it's not illegal or fraudulent. Spam email is sent out by criminals with the intent to steal your money, your personal information, or both.
Where do spam emails come from? ›Spam is rarely sent directly by a company advertising itself. It's usually sent by a "spammer," a company in the business of distributing unsolicited email. An advertiser enters into an agreement with a spammer, who generates email advertisements to a group of unsuspecting recipients.
Is junk the same as spam in Yahoo? ›Spam is online junk mail that may include advertisements, online offers, coupons, scams, and other unwanted email messages. Spam tends to clog one's inbox, so it's important to know how to avoid and control spam so that your inbox only contains the email messages that you prefer.
How do I block junk mail? ›- On your Android phone or tablet, open the Gmail app .
- Open the message.
- In the top right of the message, tap More .
- Tap Block [sender].
Blocking is futile
Trying to stop spam by blocking the sender is futile because spammers keep changing who the email appears to be from. The better approach is to mark spam as spam when it appears in your inbox. If it's showing up in your spam folder, the system is already working properly.
In Google Mail, messages are permanently deleted 30 days after they are placed in the Trash or Spam. Google has an automatic filter that automatically marks emails from suspicious senders as spam, sending them to your spam folder.
Why am I getting so much spam all of a sudden 2022? ›If you start receiving an increased amount of spam, with junk mail filters enabled, then there might be a problem with the mailbox that your spam emails are usually moved to. You should check that the target mailbox or mail folder isn't full or disabled.
Why am I suddenly getting so many spam emails? ›Spammers buy email addresses from special providers in bulk to add them to their mailing lists. If you've noted a sudden increase in the number of spam emails landing in your account, there's a high chance that your address was part of a list recently sold to one or more scammers.
How do I permanently block spam in Gmail? ›...
Block an email address
- On your computer, go to Gmail.
- Open the message.
- In the top right, click More .
- Click Block [sender].
Spammers are generally in it for monetary gain, some can also just be trying to spread miss-information or their own agendas.
Why do people spam? ›
The prime reason why spammers send messages is to lure you into buying products from them instead of companies you trust. Spam emails are primarily commercial in nature and promote products in a disguised manner through links embedded in genuine emails from sites you are familiar with.
Where does most spam come from? ›Overall, 24.77 percent of the global spam volume originated from IPs based in Russia. Germany ranked second with 14.12 percent of the share of global spam email. The United States followed, accounting for 10.46 percent of global unsolicited spam emails during the measured period.
How do I permanently block spam emails on Yahoo? ›- Click the Settings icon. | click More Settings. .
- Click Security and Privacy.
- Under "Blocked addresses", click the Add button.
- Enter the email address you want to block.
- Click Save.
To save server space, Yahoo won't cling to your deleted emails forever. Yahoo automatically clears your Trash and Spam folders after a certain period of time — Trashed emails delete after seven days, while spam emails delete after 30 days — and these settings can't be changed.
Why are Yahoo emails going to spam? ›Domain Reputation. Spam filters create lists of suspicious domains based on emails they have previously filtered. If you or other people using the same email or domain were previously sending spam, your emails could be seen as more suspicious by spam filters.