Spam Equals Human Flesh?

We were in Fiji and the Soloman Islands last year, both places with cannibalism and headhunting in their recent past. On several occasions we were told by locals that the reason they all crave Spam so much is that it tastes like human flesh! Has anyone else heard this? What a great ad for Spam

No-one has ever suggeted that in the 17 years i have been associated with Solomon Islanders. And the "luncheon meat" they buy is not Spam, but an even worse Chinese copy called Ma Ling.

Incidentally, Melanesians are pretty good at telling sensational, if ficticious, stories to tourists and anthropologists.

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The Polynesians are pretty good at it, too! LOL

# 3 is right. Just ask Margaret Mead!

Just don't put any of that lousy New Zealand Ketchup on your spam, eh Raro?

Papa Mike

Mike---that's the BEST use of NZ catsup! Save the Heinz for better things!

Foolishearthling---to we aliens, all you earthlings taste like chicken.

old island joke, often quoted as SPAM tasting like long pig.

Well, true or not, after I heard that, Spam never tasted the same. Waldo, if it's an OLD joke, there may be some truth to it, eh?

absolutely- back to WWII I think, which is back a ways. SPAM is terrible unless grilled- with eggs and potatoes it is great. My kids love it- having lived in Micronesia for 4 formative years. Corned beef is another one- dished out onto hot rice- they still think it is a treat.

Now I'm all hungry :)

Paul Theroux in his book "The Happy Isles of Oceania", suggested that Spam seemed to be popular in countries that used to have canibalism for this reason.....have never heard anybody in the islands say that. Aloha

we heard this from locals in Fiji, Tetepare and Munda, bbut we were having a lot of conversations about this sort of thing

Theroux is an idiot when it comes to the South Pacific. Several major mistakes re culture and history in his Happy Isles book. Much of his book is "spam" !!

"Theroux is an idiot when it comes to the South Pacific. Several major mistakes re culture and history in his Happy Isles book"

Couldn't agree more.

Met the man once he's so full of himself it's a wonder he hasn't burst.

I think he's a pretty good(and interesting) travel writer. His chapters on the Samoas were accurate.