Happy birthday, Spam. (The email, not the meat product) You must look so young because you're confident, having used some of the special products that you sell ... nudge, nudge, say no more.In one of those little stories that make reading a weekend paper so much fun, the Washington Post has provided us not only with the name but the nature of the first spammer. No surprise, it was a salesman. A guy named Gary Thuerk, who may never be remembered for anything else by the rest of humanity and probably will remain a footnote as it is. Surely, he doesn't get any royalties for every unsolicited bit of email garbage sent since. But wouldn't that be a pretty penny!
I find it mildly amusing that Bill Gates predicted the eradication of spam by 2004. He's got a better chance of ridding the world of malaria, which he's been trying to do for years now -- it will take many more, but I hope he and his foundation continue their quest. Spam will prove to be a more resilient case, I suspect.
In a side note, the article states that Viagara turned 10 in March. I can only imagine what percentage of spam is due to male enhancement. How long until we hear tales of Spam Babies graduating high school?
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