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2 Comments How did the name spam come about?
ASK! about Science & Technology
Spam ® is the trademark of a type of canned pork and ham, created and produced by Geo. A. Hormel company of Austin, Minnesota, USA.
The same word, ‘spam’ also refers to ‘unsolicited commercial email’, that is the junk mail we received sent to us without our consent. Such mail were named after the famous ham as it was parallel to how offensive “SPAM®” thrown at the walls of a restaurant would be for diners looking at it.
In the begining, ‘spam’ was conceived from a competition held by its creators to find a catchy name for the canned pork. The convenience and shelf life of Spam made it an important food during the Second World War, when fresh meats were scarce. Spam fed many civilians and militray men.
References:
Spam
Call No.: 641.664 PAT – [COO]
A cookery book containing a brief history of Spam and its role in WWII.
Credo Reference
A NLB e-Database containing links to information from various sources, such as dictionaries and encyclopaedias. useful for getting concise information.
“spam.” Hargrave’s Communications Dictionary, Wiley. 2001. CredoReference. 12 January 2008
You can access the databases by going to www.nlb.gov.sg>eResources>eDatabases. To find out more about the NLB databases, visit our ASK guide .
Posted by Ms Ang Mei Jun
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Yallo, this is not spam. Welcome to wordpress! Already updated your new URL and feed at EP blog.
Makes you wonder if “Maling” or “Narcissus” would have been as catchy a term for junk email…
In Canada, we had Swift’s PREM, short for Premium luncheon meat, which has oddly been discontinued; too bad, as it is superior to Spam which has now glutted the grocery stores here in Canada. Hey, just like the email equivalent; your 2nd rate luncheon meat grows by leaps and bounds.