Just So You Know, Popeye Didn't Always Get His Strength From Canned Spinach

The connection between Popeye's physical strength and his consumption of canned spinach has become a pop culture touchstone, with the reference remaining readily recognizable even nearly a century after the character's debut – except surprisingly, the legendary brawling sailor's strength came from a very different source in his first appearance. Instead of leafy green vegetables, Popeye powered up by...rubbing the head of a hen?

Yes, as depicted in the June 11, 1929 edition of Thimble Theater – the comic strip from which Popeye and his familiar cast of characters originated – Popeye's source of strength was a "wiffle hen," the head of which he rubbed "for luck."

Luckily for Popeye, this allowed him to survive being shot more than a dozen times by a villain, whom he subsequently clobbered, offering an insight into the truly absurd origins of the iconic character. At the same time, it also raises the question of why spinach became central to Popeye’s lore.

Before He Gobbled Spinach To Get Stronger, Popeye The Sailor's First Source Of Strength Was Even More Absurd

The "Wiffle Hen" & Why It Didn't Last

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Anyone familiar with Popeye's antics – as every generation has become, to some degree or another, over the past century – will know that the franchise has an absurdist streak. At their best Popeye stories are gloriously over-the-top, offering something akin to a pastiche of the hero's journey, from the call to action to the inevitable conquest of his opponents. However, a look back at the original Popeye story arc reveals an even weirder character, one who is known for "rubbing the wiffle for luck," and who displays Wolverine-level invulnerability to harm.

While the hen provided a mechanism for 'activating" the character's brawn, there were ultimately better alternatives.

"A couple bullets more or less ain't gonna stop me now," he proclaims in the comic, before uppercutting the shooter with a dramatic cry of "WHIFFLE!" It is a strange and surreal gag, but in retrospect, it makes sense that it didn't necessarily have the longevity of its successor, spinach. A closer analysis of early Popeye appearances past this one suggests that Thimble Theater's creators quickly identified his strength as vital to the character, and while the hen provided a mechanism for 'activating" the character's brawn, there were ultimately better alternatives.

By Switching Popeye's Popwer-Up To Spinach, The Character's Creators Traded In Surreality For Social Relevance

Spinach Has Kept Popeye Strong For A Century

Popeye's initial "wiffle hen" power-up was a strange and silly punchline, representative of the style of humor that had become prevalent in the comic strip medium early in the 20th century. Though it might not have been their intention, by eventually settling on spinach instead, Popeye's creators truly made him an icon. That is, part of the reason why Popeye's pop culture legacy has been propagated over the past 90+ years is that generations of parents have cited him as an example when trying to get their kids to eat healthy.

Popeye's conversion to canned spinach elevated him to a level of prominence that "rubbing the wiffle hen" could never have achieved. Though the character was immediately popular, Popeye the Sailor's lasting success is a direct result of his early evolution from a completely absurd character into one that carried a coded social message, which has equated to perennial relevance ever since. As ridiculous as Popeye's original source of power might have been, it is a fascinating insight into the foundation that was laid for an eventually universally-recognizable figure.