Where did the name “Spam” come from?
(Source) This is a tricky one. No one knows exactly. The food SPAM (all letters capitalized) is created by Hormel Foods. It is believed by many that the name for Email Spam came from a Monty Python sketch on SPAM. The first ever known spam was sent through Arpanet, a precursor to the internet, by a DEC marketing rep. The term Spam became popular when many abusive users who frequented BBSs and MUDs would repeat either the word SPAM or lines from the Monty Python sketch on Spam in order to scroll posts from the screen. The first mass spammers were lawyers Laurence Canter and Martha Siegel, who used Usenet to advertise immigration law services, now known as Green Card Spam. They then promoted spamming of Usenet and email as a new means of advertising.
