January 17 – Popeye Day

nPosted on January 17, 2018

n

nI know a few things about Popeye:

n

nHe was a Sailor Man with a TV show and a rather annoyingly catchy theme song called “I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.”

nHe adored Olive Oyl.

nHis nemesis was Bluto.

nHe got his strength from spinach. Actually, he got his strength from what I think is the very worst form of spinach: canned spinach. It was usually eaten straight from the can in a crushed-tin-can geyser that plops down into his eager throat!

n

n

n

nHere are some things I didn’t know:

n

n* Popeye was introduced on this date in 1929 as just a very minor character in a newspaper comic strip named Thimble Theater.

n

n* Popeye was so popular, he quickly became the main character of that strip. And that strip then went on to become one of the most popular and profitable strips of its time.

n

n* About nine years after Popeye’s introduction to the world, his creator died; Thimble Theater (which was eventually changed to the name Popeye) was carried on by several other writers and artists.

n

n* Over the years, Popeye also appeared in comic books,  theatrical and TV cartoons (as I mentioned above), arcade and video games, ads, and products like spinach. He was also the inspiration for radio shows and a 1980 live-action movie Popeye!

n

n

n

n

n

n

n* The movie set for the movie Popeye is now a tourist attraction called Popeye’s Village.

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n
Benjamin Franklin’s birthday

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n
 Plan ahead:

n

n

n

n
• nJanuary holidays

  n

n

• nJanuary birthdays

  n

n

• nHistorical anniversaries in January

  n

n

n

n

n
• nFebruary holidays

  n

n

• nFebruary birthdays

  n

n

• nHistorical anniversaries in February

  n

n

n