The History of Spam — The Canned Meat Nobody Wanted Until World War II

SPAM ended up on a WW2 battlefield, in a British comedy sketch, and lending its name to junk mail — decades apart, same product, same recipe. This is the story of a canned meat nobody wanted, and how one small meatpacker turned it into three separate wins. It starts in 1891 with George Hormel opening a meatpacking business in Austin, Minnesota, an independent operator in a market controlled by Chicago's giants. Fast forward to 1937, and a surplus of pork shoulder forces a new product into existence, named at a New Year's Eve party for $100. Nobody in that room knew what they were about to create. Then came World War II. Over 100 million pounds shipped to Allied troops — roughly the weight of 7,000 adult elephants. That single number turned a warehouse-clearing gimmick into a wartime icon, mocked on the mainland but treated like a delicacy from Hawaii to the Philippines. A British comedy sketch later handed the internet a word for junk mail, and the legacy is still unfolding today in 2026, with a lawsuit, a price hike, and a leadership change all playing out at once. Same can, same fight for shelf space, just against different opponents. Watch the full story of how SPAM became one of the most stubborn food brands alive. If you enjoyed this deep dive, consider subscribing for more stories like this one. 0:00 The $100 Naming Bet 4:14 Feeding the War Effort 7:02 Khrushchev's Memoirs 8:34 Beloved in Hawaii and Korea 12:08 Monty Python Sketch 13:33 The Birth of Email Spam 16:20 Record Sales and New Flavors 19:53 The Spam Museum Legacy #spam #spamrecipe #ww2