Letter to the Editor

'Spam' evolved from sketch by Monty Python

To the editor:

Regarding the etymology of "spam": Anyone who has been in the business for a long time knows that "spam" as applied to unwanted bulk e-mail comes from the Monty Python "Spam" sketch, where everything in a restaurant has Spam in it and Vikings are singing "Spam" continuously. Early Internet users (mostly geeks like me) watched Monty Python a lot.

MIKE MALONE

Poplar Bluff, Mo.