SPAM luncheon meat was first produced in the Depression era in the United States (1937), by the Hormel Foods Corporation. It was named by Ken Daigneau who had won a contest (and $100). Ken was the brother of a Hormel Vice-President, but that may be entirely coincidental. Hormel insist that the Continue Reading
Computers
OMG, unfriended. WTF?
Although millennials seem to think they invented text-speak, having no concept of communication such as telegram or morse code, you might be surprised to learn that some of the words associated with social media were in use much earlier than you might expect. OMG In a letter from Admiral John Continue Reading
The First Computer Virus
In 1971, Bob Thomas at BBN Technologies created a self-replicating program, designed to infect servers on ARPANET, the precursor to the internet. Allegedly named after the Scooby Doo villain, the Creeper Virus infected the remote systems and displayed the message “I’m the creeper, catch me if you can!”. Ray Tomlinson, who also Continue Reading