This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mike Rosoft (talk | contribs) at 20:02, 16 June 2004 (Changed the link to Spam Sketch to a HTML version). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 20:02, 16 June 2004 by Mike Rosoft (talk | contribs) (Changed the link to Spam Sketch to a HTML version)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Spam is a popular Monty Python sketch in which a customer tries to order a breakfast without SPAM from a menu which seemingly includes it in every item.
Waitress: (brightly) "Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it."
Customer: (exasperated) "I don't want ANY spam!"
Eventually, a group of Vikings at the cafe drown out all conversation by singing more and more loudly a song about "Spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam" till it builds to an operatic climax.
The sketch was the final sketch of the 25th show of Monty Python's Flying Circus, and was first aired December 15, 1970. Despite its shortness, the sketch achieved immense popularity.
SPAM was one of the few meats excluded from the British food rationing that began in World War II and continued for a number of years after the war and the British grew heartily tired of it, hence the sketch.
The phenomenon, some years later, of marketers drowning out discourse by flooding Usenet newsgroups and individuals' email addresses with junk advertising messages was named spamming in honour of this sketch.