Spam

The original Spam is a proprietary name for luncheon meat registered in 1937 by Hormel Foods in the US, probably derived from SPiced hAM or Shoulder Pork and hAM. The word is perhaps better known these days as unsolicited junk email. This usage of spam was coined by Usenet users in 1993 after Usenet administrator Richard Depew inadvertently posted the same message 200 times to a discussion group. Junk food to junk mail is an obvious association, much to the chagrin of Hormel Foods, one feels. Usenet, launched in 1980, was a newsgroup forum, a pioneer of the web forums that are commonplace today.