Why is an unsolicited email called SPAM? Fun Fact Friday!

The term “spam” was inspired by a 1972 skit by Monty Python featuring a diner that served everything with SPAM in it. Jolly Vikings sing a chorus of “Spam, Spam, Wonderful spam!” Check out the skit on daily motion, it is really funny.

No one really knows who first declared annoying messages SPAM, but MUD chat room users in the 80s began to declare junk posts spam. The first documented reference goes to Richard Depew in 1993 after apologizing for posting a message 200 times by mistake, saying “sorry for the spam”.

Bonus: SPAM is either short for “spiced ham” or “shoulder of pork and ham”