Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Not to be confused with the seminal theological work by Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man: sometime this summer, I plan on fulfilling a longtime dream by visiting the SPAM™ museum in Austin, MN. If you're not a hardcore fan of this quintessential American meat product, you may not be aware of the full scope of the phenomenon of SPAM™.
While I shun similar foodoids, like Cheez Whiz™, Velveeta™, and marshmallow Fluff™, I do have a genuine culinary and cultural appreciation for the pink gelatinous pork-prisms. Behold:
- The Official SPAM™ Fan Club, of which I am not yet a member.
- The SPAM-Mobile is coming to a town near you! It'll be in St. Louis for the better part of July, then make an appearance at the African World Festival in Milwaukee, WI.; because we all now rootsy and African SPAM™ is. The closest it'll come to Chicago is Rockford on September 4th, and Rochelle, IL, at the Rochelle Hormel™ Plant on September 11th. You have to admit there is something a little odd about at September 11th SPAM festival.
They're the three largest SPAM® cans in the world. Instead of containing pure pork shoulder and ham, however, each of the three cans is actually a vehicle used to prepare sample sizes of SPAMBURGER® hamburgers. The large replicas of a SPAM® can are crossing the United States to enable people to become more familiar with the great taste of SPAM® classic and SPAM® oven roasted turkey.
How, pray tell, does one become a SPAMbassador?
The first SPAMMOBILE(TM) vehicle, shaped from a trolley car chassis, was unveiled in March 2001. Since then, it has been appearing at retail stores during weekdays and concerts, festivals, sporting events and other venues on weekends. A second SPAMMOBILE(TM) vehicle rolled out in mid-April 2002 and the third unit went into service at the end of that month. Each SPAMMOBILE(TM) vehicle is designed to resemble a blue and yellow can of SPAM®. The sides of the vehicle portray the front of a can of SPAM® and the front of the unit displays two eyes and a smile to give the vehicle a friendly demeanor.
Each vehicle is approximately 28 feet long, eight feet wide and 10 feet high. Inside, electric sandwich grills are used to prepare miniature SPAMBURGER® hamburgers. Approximately 500,000 SPAMBURGER® hamburgers will be served during the year by each SPAMMOBILE(TM), or about 1.5 million sandwiches for all three vehicles. The three vehicles will travel a combined total of about 120,000 miles, operating year-round to attend nearly 675 events each year. Each vehicle is supported by a field manager/driver and a crew of trained SPAM(TM)bassadors.
SPAM® classic was introduced 65 years ago in 1937. Since then, additional varieties have been unveiled, including SPAM® lite, SPAM® less sodium, SPAM® smoked flavored and, the most recent introduction, SPAM® oven roasted turkey. - It's the Other Pink Meat! Official Hormel™ SPAM™ Graphics
- The Role of SPAM™ in World War II: if it's good enough for the Greatest Generation, it's good enough for me.
- Memories of SPAM™ Jam 2002, which included the opening of the world's largest can of SPAM™.
The SPAM Museum Jam honored American classics – including TV “moms” Marion Ross (Happy Days), Barbara Billingsley (Leaver it to Beaver) and Debra Jo Rupp (That ‘70s Show); American legends – including NBC-TV anchor, Tom Brokaw; and American heroes – including hundreds of World War II veterans and a New York City firefighter who worked at Ground Zero last fall.
Yeah, that's Happy Days' Mrs. Cunningham on the left! Get it? Cunning-ham? Oh, never mind...
On Saturday, June 15, the “moms” unveiled their favorite SPAM recipes in a fun-filled ceremony that included peeling back the lid of a giant SPAM can to officially “open” the SPAM Museum. (The SPAM Museum opened to the public in September 2001, but the grand opening festivities were postponed due to September 11.)
The Phenomenon of SPAM™
