Why Does Popeye Eat Spinach?

As I sat watching the movie Popeye tonight, I began pondering the answer to this question. Why does Popeye the Sailor Man eat spinach? I know it's to recharge his superhuman strength, but why does spinach make him the strong man Olive Oyl loves? Why not some other food, like big juicy hamburgers or crunchy carrots?

Many will tell you that the obvious answer is that spinach is one of many vegetables that kids hate to eat, despite its nutritional value. If they see a cartoon character they love, like Popeye, eating it and becoming super strong, then suddenly it has a whole new appeal. Now spinach is cool, and maybe it will make me strong, too! The plan apparently worked, considering that two spinach-growing towns have statues of Popeye the Sailor Man honoring him for boosting spinach sales. (There's one in his hometown, too.)

Spinach certainly is a healthy food, and encouraging kids to eat it is a great idea. According to LifeScript, it is known as a "power food," containing a lot of nutrients. It is high in calcium, folic acid, potassium, iron, magnesium, vitamins C and A, lutein, and zeaxanthin. These ingredients promote bone, eye, and neural tube health, help the production of red blood cells, and steady our heartbeat and blood pressure. It is certainly a food that can make one "strong to the finish!"

But why spinach? Why not some other healthy vegetable that kids hate to eat? There are plenty of other foods out there that could have been his secret weapon, such as beans which are high in iron and protein. Broccoli, according to Men's Health, is "more densely packed with vitamins and minerals than almost any other food." Why did the creator of Popeye the fast-talking, squinty-eyed Sailor Man decide that spinach should be the source of the muscle man's strength?

The answer is a mistake, a mere misprint in a published study. It stated that spinach contained ten times the amount of iron it really has. Spinach is loaded with nutrients and has lots of iron, but not that much. The truth was uncovered in the 30s, but it wasn't widely known until a publication in the British Medical Journal in 1981. Popeye had been eating spinach since his comic strip was first published in 1919, and he certainly wasn't going to change. That's not Popeye's style. "I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam!"

Spinach is one of the healthiest foods to eat, but there are vegetables that are just as nutritious. Spinach was mistakenly believed to contain ten times more iron than it does when Popeye was created, and that's probably why it became the strong man's source of strength. By the time the truth was known, the character was already famous for eating spinach, and he'd inspired children to give spinach a chance, too. Now if we could only get them to eat their broccoli, too!

Unfortunately, making the source of his power known to the world might not have been such a great idea. Sure, he inspired children to eat their spinach and thus boosted spinach sales, resulting in the creation of his very own brand of canned spinach, statues erected in his honor. But he also opened the door for his competition, paving the way for the emergence of new super hero idols.

Without his power food kept a secret, along came Superman in the 30s, and many other strong men followed him into the spotlight. Where did you think Clark Kent got his superhuman strength, hmm? Did you really believe that Krypton story--or all that nonsense about Peter Parker's "spider bite"? Hmm? I know the truth: vegetables, my friend, vegetables! Spinach and kale! But that, of course, is entirely another story....