All about Spam

■ Meat magnate Jay Hormel asked guests at his 1936 New Year’s Eve party to come up with a name for his new canned meat. The actor who created the Spam name won $100, equal to more than $1,700 today.

■ There are numerous interpretations for the name; the company says it comes from “Sp” for “spice” and “am” for ham.

■ Spam contains pork, ham, salt, water, potato starch, sugar and sodium nitrate, the latter of which helps preserve the pink color of the meat.

■ Spam was launched July 5, 1937, making it 80 years old today. When the first can of Spam was sold, Franklin D. Roosevelt was in the White House.

■ Hormel’s timing was perfect; canned Spam helped solve the problem of sending fresh meat to GIS during World War II.

■ More than 100 million pounds of Spam were shipped to allied troops during the war.

■ More than 8 billion cans have been produced around the world.

■ It’s called Spam no matter the native language of the country where it’s sold.

■ The company is celebrating its anniversary with “80 Days of Spam,” which it launched in April with 1,800 free cans for its employees.

■ Hawaii is the state with America’s highest per capita consumption of Spam, in large part because of those World War II shipments.

■ Spam also is beloved in Guam, where dealers have been known to fill trunks with it as a new-car sales tactic.

■ Spam musubi, a slice of sauteed

Spam with sushi rice, wrapped in nori, originated in Hawaii. Other popular dishes are Spam kimchee in Korea, Spam with eggs in the Philippines and Spam fritters in Great Britain.

■ At least 50 American restaurants serve Spam, according to Hormel — a number that seems low when you solely take into account the places that serve Spam musubi.

■ Spam packages became part of the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in 1998.

■ The Spam Museum is in Austin, Minnesota, home base of Hormel. It hosted its first Spam-themed wedding in April.

— Hormel Foods Corp., other sources