On this week’s episode of Discover Tech, we bring to you the origin of some terms such as “Spam” and “Bug” commonly used by most people in the world.

E-mail spam is an unfortunate byproduct of the digital age. It's the modern equivalent of junk mail that gets delivered to your physical mail box, and nobody - except the people that profit from it - like it. What many people may not know, however, is that spam e-mail is named after canned meat.
Spam, as you may know, is a brand of canned pork that has been in production by the Hormel Foods Corporation since 1937. During World War II, it became a key part of soldiers' diets due to its versatility and shelf life. After the war, the canned meat product surged in popularity around the world.
In the early 90s, when the first unsolicited messages started going out in bulk, it reminded one Usenet newsgroup user of the spam skit from Monty Python.
The name stuck, and now, the word "spam" is commonly used to refer to unsolicited communications or performing an action repeatedly.

What about computer bugs? In 1947, computer pioneer Grace Hopper found herself working on a Mark II Computer at Harvard University. It was at this time that her associates discovered a moth had gotten trapped in one of the computer's relays and was causing an error. The operators removed the moth and taped it in their log book, identifying it as the "first actual case of bug being found."
Word got out that the team had "debugged" the computer, hence leading to the phrase's use in computing and pop culture.

Did you learn something intriguing today? Share more tech words and their origins as well with us!