Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, spam and spam

So today I was lying in bed, thinking just random things and I started thinking about Spam. At the time I was thinking that whoever invented Spam must be rolling in his grave because something that was intended for good (and profit) has become slang for icky meat product and unwanted junk e-mails. There it is "Spam" in bold letters on my Yahoo page. Also, there are all kinds of processed meat that doesn't get the same disdain as Spam does. Sausages, hot dogs, ham, salami, etc.- all are processed meat in some form and they aren't the butt of jokes in the same way as Spam is. Then, I fell asleep, thinking about the Monty Python Spam sketch.

Before I posted this, I thought I'd go by Wikipedia to see what they had to say about who invented Spam, etc. And what I found really really interesting is that Spam as a name for junk e-mail came from the Monty Python sketch since it is something being offered that you don't want in the middle of things you may want, like baked beans, but that seems to take over the menu in the end. So spam as a name for junk mail wasn't taken directly from the meat product, it was actually taken from Monty Python, filtered through pop culture. And the Monty Python people brought it into their sketches because Spam was one of the few products NOT subject to British rationing during and after WWII, which is why the British were so tired of it, according to Wikipedia at least.

Yeah, yeah, yeah--- I know I am a dork, but I just find it fascinating how a meat product which came to the market in 1937 can give its name to a modern technological phenomenon in the 1990s. Wow.