# Silly, weird, perhaps unanswerable questions about movies and TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401 "2013-03-31T03:09:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/361 "2024-04-26T17:59:36Z")
“I thinks it were Sailor.” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/362 "2024-04-26T18:00:50Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Popeye must have some level of superhuman strength without the spinach because the depictions I have seen have him taking a beating and then **squeezing** a **metal can** of spinach until the spinach comes shooting out of it into his mouth. Have you _ **seen** _ his forearms? They’re enormous. I always assumed that he built up his forearms from his sailor duties, hoisting ropes and such, giving him freakishly large forearm muscles and incredible grip strength, even without the spinach energy boost. ---
**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 26, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/363 "2024-04-26T18:14:54Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I always assumed that he built up his forearms from his sailor duties Nah, he was a tennis pro first. 🙂 ---
**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 29, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/364 "2024-04-29T21:04:41Z")
On game shows where the contestants say only “I agree” or “I disagree,” how come the emcee never asks “Why?” 🤨 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/365 "2024-04-29T21:34:39Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > …how come the emcee never asks “Why?” I don’t know why, but I’m glad they don’t ask. _Card Sharks_ used to drive me nuts. “We asked 100 people, are you left-handed? How many said yes, they are left-handed?” “Well. Jim, I think that’s going to be a pretty small number. I know a lot of people, and only a few of them are left-handed. My uncle was left-handed and he…” Just give a damn number already. They ramble on like they’re being paid by the word. ---
**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 29, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/366 "2024-04-29T22:31:50Z")
Well, at least they gave the matter some thought before answering. I mute the TV whenever they do those stupid flash “bonus rounds” on Tom Bergeron’s iteration of _ **Hollywood Squares** _. There’s no time for the contestants to think, and if they said only “I agree” (or “I disagree”) each time, odds are they’d get at least some of the answers right. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/367 "2024-04-30T21:19:44Z")
Popeye definitely wasn’t the first superhero, because Zorro dates back to 1919. And, for that matter, there’s no real difference between superheroes and many of the stories of saints, or the Greek (or older) myths. The crew of the Argo were the Avengers of their day. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/368 "2024-04-30T21:24:59Z")
Bluto observed Popeye eating spinach and then kicking the crap out of him more than once. Why didn’t Bluto get a clue and go buy himself multiple cans of spinach? It wasn’t like it was expensive or hard to find. Imagine the titanic fights between **two** spinach-fueled mugs! Would either ever win? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/369 "2024-04-30T21:33:00Z")
Spinach only worked for Popeye. I speak from experience. It sure didn’t make me stronger, and as I was getting yelled at for retching at the table, I remember my preschool self thinking “I’ve been betrayed by modern culture and the mid-century media thereof.” ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/370 "2024-04-30T21:34:50Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Spinach only worked for Popeye. Not true. I remember Pappy, Olive Oyl, and Swee’pea eating it and taking out rivals and Goons. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/371 "2024-04-30T22:08:02Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I was getting yelled at for retching at the table > [@teelabrown](#): > > Not true. I remember Pappy, Olive Oyl, and Swee’pea eating it and taking out rivals and Goons. Maybe the idea is that spinach is incredibly good for you but tastes so horrible that most people can’t force themselves to eat it except in a crisis. Popeye demonstrates a saintly level of asceticism by eating his spinach every day. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/372 "2024-04-30T22:10:42Z")
It only works for good guys. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/373 "2024-04-30T22:14:23Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > It only works for good guys No, on rare occasions when Bluto has been beaten beyond even what he deserved, Popeye’s revived him with spinach and even taken a few punches to balance the scales of justice. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/374 "2024-04-30T22:18:07Z")
Okay, then it only works when used for a good purpose. There, mystery solved. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/375 "2024-04-30T22:22:36Z")
[This thread made me want to watch the old one where Olive took spinach and delivered a smackdown to a rival.](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkay8v) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/376 "2024-04-30T22:37:40Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Okay, then it only works when used for a good purpose. There, mystery solved. My theory is that spinach is used as a symbol of grace bestowed by the Holy Spirit for righteousness, when otherwise the worldliness of brute force and underhanded cheating would win. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/377 "2024-04-30T22:58:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > IIRC,\* in the book\*, the guy was real. That just didn’t come across too clearly in the movie. Yeah, her fiancé Doug appears in the book a number of times. Linda broke off the engagement when she got a scholarship to attend university in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/378 "2024-05-01T01:34:31Z")
A lot of Popeye’s power was derived from the time he was near death in the hold of a ship, and spent days stroking the single feather on the head of Bernice the Wiffle Hen, a pre-Eugene the Jeep magical animal. It’s Gospel. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/379 "2024-05-01T04:30:41Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Spinach only worked for Popeye. > > I speak from experience. It sure didn’t make me stronger, and as I was getting yelled at for retching at the table, I remember my preschool self thinking “I’ve been betrayed by modern culture and the mid-century media thereof.” Yeah. I grew up thinking spinach was green slime in a can, thanks to Popeye. The intended message had the opposite effect on me. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401/380 "2024-05-01T05:08:25Z")
Indiana Jones is a college professor (at Princeton, I think it was). Towards the beginning of _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ he was teaching a class, and then he just left to go look for the Ark. What were his students doing while Indy was off on his adventure? Did he just cancel class until he got back? Did one of his colleagues sub for him? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-weird-perhaps-unanswerable-questions-about-movies-and-tv/654401.md?page=20)