Did you know the first ever spam email was sent way back on May 3, 1978? That's right, internet spam is older than many of us! This digital milestone (or misstep, depending on how you see it) was achieved by Gary Thuerk, a marketer from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). He sent an unsolicited message to about 400 ARPANET users to advertise DEC's DECsystem-20 computers.

Here's a fun twist: one of the recipients, Dr. Joel Denning, a computer scientist at the University of Utah, faced a unique challenge. His hard drive, which was pretty limited by today's standards, couldn't handle the size of Thuerk's message. Imagine that - a single email overwhelming a hard drive!

This incident wasn't just a minor annoyance for Dr. Denning. It highlighted the real problems that unsolicited digital communications could cause. It sparked discussions about digital etiquette and ethics, especially in the then-new world of electronic communication. Thuerk's message also exploited the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and used ARPANET's mailing list feature in a way it was never intended to be used. So, next time you get a spam email, remember it's part of a tradition that's been going on for over four decades!