# Obscure Cultural Reference In Popeye? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2017, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281 "2017-04-26T13:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/41 "2017-04-27T04:14:44Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Oyl. And Olive’s original boyfriend was named Ham Gravy. Segar made the mistake of starting his cartoon when he was hungry. Not to mention her mother Nana (banana) Oyl and her father Cole Oyl, plus a host of other oyly relatives. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/42 "2017-04-27T22:42:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Was there ever an X-rated version where Popeye took spinach with him to bed? There may have. There were any number of Popeye-themed Tijuana bibles published. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/43 "2017-04-27T23:53:00Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > There may have. There were any number of Popeye-themed Tijuana bibles published. Indeed there were. Here’s J. Wellington Wimpy in (Warning: VERY NSFW) [You Bring The Ducks.](http://www.tijuana-bibles.com/tijuanabiblecomics/jwwimpy-youbringtheducks.html) Many Popeye and Olive Oyl examples out there too, even one with Popeye and Mae West! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/44 "2017-04-28T00:39:59Z")
“Tijuana bibles,” eh? :dubious: Jeez, my dad was right. You really \*do \*learn something new every day! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/45 "2017-04-28T09:16:36Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Indeed there were. Here’s J. Wellington Wimpy in (Warning: VERY NSFW) [You Bring The Ducks.](http://www.tijuana-bibles.com/tijuanabiblecomics/jwwimpy-youbringtheducks.html) > > Many Popeye and Olive Oyl examples out there too, even one with Popeye and Mae West! I added a spoiler box so the NSFW link would be cleared by our two click rule. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/46 "2017-04-28T11:04:06Z")
**NSFW** joke: Why does Popeye have such a soft foreskin? Every night, he sticks his dick in Olive Oyl! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/47 "2017-04-28T11:37:03Z")
So if a man’s hands are indicative of his size, how 'bout those forearms, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/48 "2017-04-28T17:53:21Z")
Late to the party, but I just wanted to say that my mom used to do the “bread and butter” thing when we’d walk around a pole. Never understood what it was about, but she was superstitious about a lot of things so I figured it was just another in the series. Hadn’t thought about it for years. Thanks for the reminder! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/49 "2017-04-28T22:12:51Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I’m picturing a (color) cartoon from the 40s, perhaps Loony Tunes but not any of their main characters, with a scene from a zoo, where two tigers (or were they lions?) pace back and forth in a cage repeatedly saying “bread and butter”. > > My wife and I do that all the time now when we’re walking and take separate paths around a pole or low fence or something. And we were both born in the 80s. So, perhaps an old superstition, but it’s still got practitioners. [Here ya go!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM_n9croRyg) The train one’s on that clip, too. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/50 "2017-04-28T23:25:19Z")
Thanks, jayjay. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/51 "2017-04-30T08:05:46Z")
This thread reminds me of something. Years ago, my work group was having a discussion about where to go for lunch. The boss (who was vegetarian) said as a joke, “We could go out for hamburgers.” Meena, one of my co-workers, was from India, and was also vegetarian. She replied, “When I was in London I went to Wimpy’s for a beanburger, and it was good!” I said, “Did you pay them Tuesday?” Everyone in the group laughed, except for Meena, who didn’t have the cultural context. I promised to explain it to her later. I saw Meena the next day, and asked whether she knew about Popeye. She said she did. I said that Wimpy was a character in Popeye cartoons. She asked, “Is that the giant who’s always troubling him?” I said, “No. . . Wimpy is a guy who loves hamburgers, and he always says, ‘I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.’” Meena replied, “And does he pay them Tuesday?” At that point I pretty much gave up. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/52 "2017-04-30T12:18:51Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > Meena replied, “And does he pay them Tuesday?” A bar I’ve been to has an old, weathered sign hanging that reads, “FREE BEER TOMORROW”. I’ve overheard guys discussing plans to return the following day for their free suds. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/53 "2017-04-30T13:49:07Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > So if a man’s hands are indicative of his size, how 'bout those forearms, huh? “I yam what I yam!” 🆒 [http://www.vivienne-mackie.com/articles/holidays/family/teddyyam.jpg](http://www.vivienne-mackie.com/articles/holidays/family/teddyyam.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/54 "2017-04-30T16:56:48Z")
And what’s with the name “Popeye”, anyway. Was that a sailor reference? > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Don’t mess with Popeye, man. > Just don’t. He will kick your ass. Chuck Norris gives all of his spinach to Popeye. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/55 "2017-04-30T17:39:44Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > And what’s with the name “Popeye”, anyway. Was that a sailor reference? A popeye is an eye that bulges out, looking like it might pop out of the socket. Popeye has one “squinky” eye and one bulgy eye. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/56 "2017-04-30T18:13:34Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A bar I’ve been to has an old, weathered sign hanging that reads, “FREE BEER TOMORROW”. > > I’ve overheard guys discussing plans to return the following day for their free suds. Hey, it’s tomorrow someplace in the world. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281/57 "2017-04-30T18:20:39Z")
I’m reminded of this Far Side cartoon. Popeye is in the witness box in court and the prosecutor says to him, “You deny killing Mr. Bluto, and yet your pipe was found at the scene of the murder. What kind of monster are you?” Popeye replies, (You guessed it.) “I YAM WHAT I YAM!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-cultural-reference-in-popeye/785281.md?page=2)