Who ever said a little bit of gambling would hurt anybody? As long as you don’t lose your shirt (or your retirement fund), placing a few bets can actually be a neat way to let off a little bit of steam. Taking a quick trip around the poker tables can be a welcome respite from a day full of hard work. And while taking a little stroll through a gambling den can be a fun way to distract yourself from all of your adult responsibilities, there are some distractions that serve no useful purpose whatsoever. Certainly you’ve heard of spam – and not the spiced ham variety that is a favorite of fallout shelters everywhere.

Believe it or not, a few thousand people in this world legitimately believe that the spouses of deposed African monarchs and slain foreign generals wanting to randomly pop out of nowhere and do business with them. And while this is a sort of social Darwinism in its own right, the notion that some person will let you have a few million bucks without even knowing your name or gender is just downright foolish for most people out there. Though a success rate of 1 percent is better than having a society full of scammers with idle hands.

Sometimes it even tempts a person to wonder if all of the spam you get is actually bogus. Wouldn’t it just be the most ironic thing ever if the wife of a deposed Nicaraguan general actually did want your help to smuggle a bunch of money into the United States? Other than a lot of legal issues stemming from unclaimed currency transfers, that could be a rally cool way to pay off some debts, right? Whoever invented the Spam filter is the kind of person who needs to have some kind of internet monument.