Spam’s 75th birthday is a cause for celebration. Seriously! Anyone who has a complete and utter disregard for the edible substances they stuff into their gaping maws can attest to the incomparable joy associated with jamming this delicious mystery meat into their bellies. I have been a fan of the canned ham since I was a child, and because my palate did not mature past the age of 13, it remains a staple of my diet to this very day. For a lot of you, this admission is probably extremely depressing, as it suggests that the eating habits of Americans are just as pathetic as you thought they were. Sorry about that.
Spam — which gets its name from combining the words “spiced” and “ham” — was introduced to the world by Hormel Foods Corporation in 1937. Over the years, this peculiar foodstuff has become the butt of many jokes, songs, and parodies, the most famous of which is probably Monty Python’s infamous sketch from the 70’s, which portrayed the meat as something no one could escape. Who would want to? After all, eating Spam from the can is a sign of social status. What that status is, of course, is up for debate.
To date, Hormel has sold over seven billion cans. That’s a hell of a lot of delight. In order to properly celebrate Spam’s 75th year in existence, a collection of Spam-related videos have been pulled from YouTube and carefully embedded into the space below. Love it or hate, I think Spam is here to stay. From where I’m seated, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
My family physician, of course, would probably tell you differently.