In the cartoon world Popeye was just another guy flaunting his forearms, eating spinach and smoking his corncob pipe but to us he is Popeye, The Sailor Man. He is one of the cartoon characters that became a brand itself. Popeye started airing on 17, January, 1929 and people instantly liked him. There are a lot of things we didn’t know about our favorite sailor Popeye, for example-
1. Popeye is from E.C. Segar’s comic strips and apparently Popeye and Olive Oyl were not imaginary but real people who were Segar’s neighbors in his hometown. This is where he got the inspiration for creating these world famous characters.
2. Popeye not only served as a cartoon show but also as a messiah, especially to the parents who wanted their children to eat healthy. In very episode Popeye eats a can of spinach which gives him the boost to fight Bluto and what not. This action profusely inspired children to try vegetables daily which resulted in lifting the sale of green vegetables across the United States and many parts all around the world.
3. Popeye is the first cartoon character to get a statue of his own.
It was situated in Crystal City in Texas since 1937 to give homage for his contribution to the spinach industry.
4. To commemorate this spinach eating sailor, the entire Empire State Building was decorated in green light which was beaming out gloriously on the 75th anniversary of Popeye.
5. In one of the episodes, Popeye says to his nephews that he is a descendant of Hercules and that his ancestors drew their power from garlic.
6. Wimp, goon family, jeep, dufus these slangs actually were circulated by Popeye.
7. The voice actors of Popeye and Olive Oyl, Jack Mercer and Margie Hynes married each other in real life.
8. A movie was made on Popeye in 1980 which starred Robin Williams in it.
The set of this movie in Malta had later been turned into a theme park called ‘Popeye Village’.
Now people can have picnics there and enjoy rides.
9. Before getting hold of the spinach, Popeye had another powerhouse. He would rub his head on a magical white hen and derive strength to take enemies on.
Benazir Elahee Munni