Have you ever had canned meat in your inbox?

Sounds absurd? It makes more sense when you look closer at the origin of the word “spam”. While the English word “spam” stands for “garbage” – which is indeed what unwanted spam emails are – it doesn’t explain why exactly this word had to be used for junk mail. “Trash” or “waste” would have been just as possible. That exactly the word “spam” came to dubious fame goes back to a sketch by the legendary British comedy troupe Monty Python: The comedians there actually made fun of the double meaning of the term. “Spam” is not only a word for garbage, but also an unflattering term that originates from an American canned meat product (Spiced Ham).

Find out how to search spam emails faster with Lookeen here!

Monty Python’s Spam Sketch

In the aforementioned sketch, a diner guest was exclusively offered dishes that contained the word “spam”. Absurdly, these were dishes that contained the word multiple times, such as “Spam Spam Spam Spam Spam Bacon and Spam Beans Spam”. The curious accumulation of the word spam in the sketch became the basis. With the emergence of the first junk emails, the term “spam” used in it became the word for what is now on everyone’s lips. And in everyone’s mailboxes. To escape this unwanted flood, many users today rely on spam filters that automatically filter spam emails out of the inbox. Spam filters are learning programs that try to identify and sort out unwanted emails based on typical search terms, email addresses, and domains.

How to Use Lookeen as a Spam Filter

But spam filters have a major drawback: They overlook numerous spam emails that still find their way into the mailbox. Far worse, however, is the reverse case: Spam filters also sort out emails that one expects from family, friends, colleagues, or customers. To avoid this, Lookeen offers a comfortable and secure solution. Fortunately, spam emails are characterized by repeatedly identical keywords. Here, the search history proves to be a very useful feature of Lookeen. Simply search for the corresponding keywords and banish the unwanted emails to the trash via drag & drop.

To clean up your emails again in the future, call up the past search queries from the history. And just like that, you have a tidy mailbox again that is free of spam. This way you are safe from unwanted emails – and fortunately also from canned meat.