Bon appetit!

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for us to acknowledge that one thing that brings (mostly) enjoyment across our globe, helped our fighting men out in the trenches, is flavorfully versatile and scarily moldable.

I give you The SPAM MUSEUM- 101 3rd Ave. NE*, Austin, MN.

*This town has 3rd Ave NE, 3rd Ave. SE, 3rd Ave. NW, 3rd Ave. SW, 3rd St. NE, 3rd St. SE, etc. Typing the address directly into Google maps confused the app, despite typing it in correctly. Just type “SPAM Museum” and Google knows where that is.

Yes, Hormel’s wonder child has an entire museum dedicated to it and it is absolutely FREE!

The company Hormel was founded in 1891 by George A. Hormel and developed the world’s first canned ham in 1926, with SPAM luncheon meat being created in 1937. SPAM was sent overseas to keep our WWII soldiers… um, nourished. Hey, it has amazing shelf life and men really like it, that was the important part.

There’s a little something for everyone here: history on the company, its war contributions, SPAM facts, geographical tidbits in regards to SPAM, a play area, a “package your own fake SPAM” section, and more.

Fun fact: Guam consumes the most SPAM of any other country, averaging 16 cans per person every year.

They even have a Monty Python tribute, thanks to their “SPAM” sketch and the new(er) Tony award winning musical Spamalot.

Of course, you can’t forget the gift shop, where anything you could want with the word “SPAM” on it can be bought.

The SPAM Museum is guaranteed amusement for all. As an added bonus, Austin (despite their questionable street-naming judgement) is a cute town. A block over from the museum is this cool looking theater.

Until next time, dahlings…