May 4, 2008
30 Years Of Spam E-Mails
In 1978, An Enterprising Computer User Sent The Very First Unsolicited Ad. Thanks A Lot, Guy!
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Play CBS Video Video Spam Mail Turns 30 In "celebration" of the 30th anniversary of spam e-mail, Charles Osgood takes a look at this widely used medium, as over 120 billion spam messages are sent out every day.
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(CBS/AP)
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Interactive Spam: Inbox Invasion Tips to stamp out spam, state-by-state laws and a look at the 10 most common unwanted e-mails.
Let the record show that yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of SPAM.
No, not Spam the luncheon meat that Monty Python went on about, though it was that chorus of "Spam Spam Spam Spam" that's thought to be the genesis of the term to describe the flood of unasked-for e-mails we find in our "in" boxes.
On May 3, 1978, an employee of the old Digital Equipment Company mass-mailed an ad for a new computer to fellow users on a forerunner of today's Internet.
Many recipients OBJECTED.
Little did they know what was coming …
By one estimate, spam now accounts for 90 percent of all e-mail … as many as 120 BILLION spam messages per day.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The secrets of tennis legend 
Gee, I wish I was on the CBS News payroll. I could write crappy stories too.