Spam Turns 30!

If there's one thing worse than Spam, it's old Spam.

May marks the 30th anniversary of the first unsolicited commercial e-mail.

The first Spam was sent from a Digital Equipment Corporation marketer named Gary Thuerk, over ARPANET (precursor to the Internet) to a grand total of 393 individuals.

Here are the contents of that first Spam (with the To addresses removed):

"Mail-from: DEC-MARLBORO rcvd at 3-May-78 0955-PDT
Date:  1 May 1978 1233-EDT
From: THUERK at DEC-MARLBORO
Subject: ADRIAN@SRI-KL
To:  
...

WE INVITE YOU TO COME SEE THE 2020 AND HEAR ABOUT THE DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY AT THE TWO PRODUCT PRESENTATIONS WE WILL BE GIVING IN CALIFORNIA THIS MONTH.  THE LOCATIONS WILL BE:

               TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1978 - 2 PM
                   HYATT HOUSE (NEAR THE L.A. AIRPORT)
                   LOS ANGELES, CA

               THURSDAY, MAY 11, 1978 - 2 PM
                   DUNFEY'S ROYAL COACH
                   SAN MATEO, CA
                   (4 MILES SOUTH OF S.F. AIRPORT AT BAYSHORE, RT 101 AND RT 92)

A 2020 WILL BE THERE FOR YOU TO VIEW. ALSO TERMINALS ON-LINE TO OTHER DECSYSTEM-20 SYSTEMS THROUGH THE ARPANET. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT THE NEAREST DEC OFFICE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXCITING DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY."

Although the term "Spam" wasn't used at the time, this was believed to have been the first.

Today, some estimate that over 150 billion spam messages are sent every day.

And the Vikings sing: Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam! Spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam. Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Spam spam spam spam!

see:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/03/BUE210E232.DTL
http://www.templetons.com/brad/spam/
http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13777-happy-spamiversary-spam-reaches-30.html
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Technology/story?id=4780917&page=1