Most of us are familiar with the canned meat product called Spam. But thanks to a British comedy troupe, the use of the word spam has spread way beyond the kitchen table. Spam has made its mark on television, Broadway, movies and as an internet word.

Spam is a cooked pork product that was created in 1937 by the Hormel company. It can be eaten hot or cold but for years consumers ignored it. It took the necessity to feed soldiers during World War II for Spam to emerge as a safe way to provide meat. The list of Spam’s ingredients includes many items that are not endorsed by nutrition experts. The ground up pork shoulder meat is combined with water, salt, sugar and sodium nitrates. The list does not make your mouth water.

 But a hungry soldier bogged down on Iwo Jima or liberating France relied on Spam for a quick meal. They began giving the canned meat product nicknames such as “ham that didn’t pass its physical,” “Special Army Meat” and “meatloaf without basic training.” During the war, the government bought over 150 million pounds of Spam. 

Introduced by the military to native populations, Spam became a favorite of Indigenous people on the Pacific islands during and after the war. To this day, Hawaii has the largest per capita consumption in the United States. Many of the locals refer to it as “Hawaiian Steak.” It is even served in fast food restaurants competing with standards like the Whopper and the Big Mac. The island of Oahu hosts a yearly “Spam Jam” festival where chefs use the canned product in inventive recipe competitions.

As far as public recognition of the word Spam, many credit the comedy troupe “Monty Python” with putting Spam on the tip of our tongues. In one of their famous sketches, restaurant patrons learned that every breakfast dish was made from Spam. Eventually the waiters shouted out ad nauseum the menu items as “Spam, spam, spam and more spam.” 

Spam also made its way into movie history. In the 1983 movie “The Right Stuff,” ace pilot Chuck Yeager, portrayed by Sam Shepard, was asked about whether he was interested in becoming one of the country’s first astronauts. Noting that the first astronauts were passengers and not pilots in the space capsule, he declined, calling them “Spam in a can.”  Years later, I had the good fortune of having a few drinks with Mr. Shepard and during the conversation he told me that Chuck Yeager confirmed that he actually said that line to a reporter.

Spam came out of the can and landed on a Broadway stage in 2005. Eric Idle, one of the founding members of Monty Python, wrote a musical comedy called “Spamalot.” It was adapted from their 1975 movie and was a funny parody of the legend of King Arthur. The musical starred Hank Azaria and Tim Curry. Directed by Mike Nichols it won the Tony award for Best Musical.

Spam also infiltrated the internet becoming the lingo used to note a spurious entry in chat rooms and social media sites. Way before group texting, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram there were popular chat rooms on internet sites such as America OnLine. They had postings that would generate discussions and sometimes, annoying, inane fake messages. Those who grew tired of them would type “spam” over and over to mimic the original Python sketch. That encouraged others to type “spam” and eventually the annoying person would get frustrated and sign off. 

There are over twenty-five varieties of Spam sold throughout the world. They even have one for Thanksgiving called “Spam Oven Roasted Turkey.” Maybe Hormel should have called it “Spurkey.” 

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.