People are only just realising what SPAM stands for, and it’s blowing their minds
IT’s been a supermarket staple since it first hit shelves back in the 1930’s.
But have you ever looked at a tin of SPAM and wondered just why it’s called that?
Well, some people have, and took to Twitter to ask for an answer.
Others were quick to offer their thoughts in response, but there’s only one theory that has stood the test of time.
According to the SPAM Museum at Hormel Foods, the company who make the meat, the name stands for “spiced ham”.
And it was apparently Ken Digneau, the brother of an exec at Hormel Foods coming up with the name at a naming contest on New Year’s Eve.
Although he won the contest and came up with the name which has lasted for centuries, Digneau was only given a paltry $100 (£79) as a reward.
Following the contest, the name SPAM was created and trademarked for the product in 1932.
Despite this, there remain several other theories as to the true meaning of the name – with one suggesting it’s an acronym for Special Processed American Meat.
That theory stems from World War Two, when Allied troops in Europe were given 15 million cans of SPAM weekly to keep them fed.
“I always thought that SPAM was introduced to the uk during ww2 aand stood for specially processed american meat,” one person pondered.
As another added: “During the second world war, meat was hard to transport to Britain in the usual fashion and had to take a longer route, but the German u-boats were destroying them.
“The meat was processed and canned and called ‘Specially Pressed American Meat’.
“It lasted longer at sea and no need to refrigerate or salt.”
Another theory is that SPAM stands for Shoulder of Pork and Ham – a direct reference to the fact it’s made from pork shoulder and pork ham (as well as salt, water, potato starch, sugar, and sodium nitrite).
Of course, there are other urban legend suggestions for the origin of the name, including Scientifically Processed Animal Matter.