After the “Popeye” comic strip was launched in 1931, spinach consumption went up by thirty-three percent in the United States.
It’s hard to believe that the squinting, monacled, pipe chewing sailor, was originally slated for a single appearance in the 1929 cartoon strip, “Thimble Theatre”. But so popular was the rollicking sailor, that Popeye quickly became one of the very first, “pop” icons, and the strip was renamed “Thimble Theatre and Popeye”.
What followed, were a lot of amazing facts and firsts, including the first animated short, in movie history. Popeye was also the leader in merchandising for a cartoon character, with his image reproduced on toys, books, puzzles and games. In 1937 Crystal City, Texas, erected the first statue of a cartoon character, immortalizing Popeye, and his creator E.C. Egar, who signed the base of the statue.
Crystal City was said to be the spinach capital of the world, and Popeye had certainly done his part in promoting the leafy green stuff. In the 1930s, sales of spinach in the U.S. soared by 33%. Segar saw a lot of green stuff, because his reported income in 1936, was an incredible $400,000.
Sadly, he would not live to see how he his greatest creation endured. Segar died in 1938, at the age of 42.
