5 July 1937 - Spam was introduced by Hormel Foods Corporation. The billionth can was sold in 1959; in 2007, the seven billionth can of Spam was sold. In 2012, the eight billionth can of Spam was sold. Here are 10 facts about Spam.
- Only a small number of former Hormel Foods executives know the meaning of the name of the product. We do know that the name was coined by Ken Daigneau, the brother of a company executive, and he won $100 dollars in a contest to come up with a name. Speculation abounds, though, and people have suggested it means "spiced ham", "spare meat", or "shoulders of pork and ham". Or it could be an acronym: "Specially Processed American Meat", "Specially Processed Army Meat" or “Something Posing as Meat” have all been suggested.
- Spam's basic ingredients are pork, with ham meat added, Salt, Water, modified Potato starch as a binder, sugar, and sodium nitrite as a preservative. The pork is pork shoulder, an unpopular cut - the product was introduced to increase the sales of it.
- Its popularity spread during World War II when delivering fresh meat to American troops on the front was difficult. At the time, Spam was the only meat product which didn't have to be refrigerated. The soldiers called it "ham that didn't pass its physical", or "meatloaf without basic training". They didn't just eat it. They used the grease to lubricate guns and the cans it came in were recycled as scrap metal. There was so much of the stuff in American Army camps that Uncle Sam was nicknamed "Uncle Spam".
- After the war, Spam was introduced to places occupied by the Americans, such as Guam, Hawaii, Okinawa, the Philippines, and other islands in the Pacific. It found its way to Europe, too, and was used to feed the Russian army. "Without Spam we wouldn't have been able to feed our army," Nikita Khrushchev said. While it didn't take off much in Europe, the Brits liked it. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher called it a "wartime delicacy".
- Hawaii remains the state with the highest per capita consumption of Spam. In Hawaii, Spam is so popular that it is sometimes referred to as "The Hawaiian Steak". Honey Spam, Spam with Bacon, and Hot and Spicy Spam are varieties of the product which are only available in Hawaii; they use it there to make sushi; and the state has an annual Spam festival called the Waikiki Spam Jam.
- In the Philippines, it's a cultural symbol, and not, as in many other places, a symbol of poverty. It's perfectly acceptable there to give a Spam gift set as a wedding present. There's a restaurant there which has a whole menu full of Spam dishes.
- There is even a Spam Museum. It's in Austin, Minnesota (where the Hormel Foods Spam production plant is, and which is also known as "Spam Town USA") and is dedicated to the history of the Hormel company, the origin of Spam, and its place in world culture. Exhibits include the World Market, about the advertising and use of Spam and Spam recipes from 44 different nations; a World War II-themed exhibit explaining the importance of Spam as a staple for American troops; and an interactive exhibit where visitors can compete in the "assembly" of mock cans of Spam. The volunteer guides are known as Spambassadors.
- There was even an orchestra and singing group dedicated to Spam. After the war, Hormel Foods recruited a band of former servicewomen called the Hormel Girls, whose job was to promote Spam as a domestic, patriotic food. There were 60 of them, and they had their own radio show. The Hormel Girls were disbanded in 1953.
- It's even possible to get blue and green Spam. This isn't Spam that has gone off - it was a novelty food introduced to American schools. There are some private schools in Florida where blue and green Spam is traditional fare.
- In popular culture, there is a mock Church of Spam, a Spam Cam which is a webcam trained on a can of decaying Spam and a book of haikus about Spam titled Spam-Ku: Tranquil Reflections on Luncheon Loaf. Probably the best known appearance of Spam in popular culture is the Monty Python Spam sketch with its accompanying song. Because of its use in a line of a song in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the title of the musical version of the film became Spamalot. In the 1990s, Spam was still seen as so ubiquitous that it became the word used for unsolicited email.
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