# Unanswered questions about cartoon characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 11, 1999, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697 "1999-11-11T19:47:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/121 "2001-08-21T21:27:07Z")
I should learn to type faster or write less. ---
**Author:** ![Verrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/46a35a/32.png) [@Verrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Verrain)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/122 "2001-08-21T21:40:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jab1 \* > \*\*I should learn to type faster or write less. \*\* I would recommend the preview function myself. While we’re on the subject of the PPG: What does Miss Bellum’s face look like? Just how does every villian get out of prison so fast? And what is everything nice anyway? And I agree to you about Samurai Jack’s coolness. Time will tell what questions we ponder about it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bitterdrunk\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@The\_Bitterdrunk\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bitterdrunk_Kid)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/123 "2001-08-21T21:45:28Z")
How did Popeye’s eye pop out? In the Archie comics, why is it that Betty and Veronica apparently don’t care that they’re both being used by Archie? And that they are still best friends, and Archie never comes up in their own private conversations? (If I remember right, Daffy once said he was a Mallard duck.) Why was the little gangster with the big hat able to boss around the the big stupid gangster? Do you think Wile E. Coyote has trouble getting health insurance? If Boris & Natasha worked for the Soviet Union (which is clearly where they were from, based on the accents), why weren’t they shot, or sent to the gulags for incompetence? The Soviet Union wasn’t exactly known for leniency. Lois Lane, who is an ace reporter, isn’t able to tell Clark Kent is Superman, even though she works side by side with him every day? Why hasn’t Yogi Bear ever been shot by the rangers for wandering up to picnickers and stealing their food? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/124 "2001-08-21T21:46:10Z")
Thanks, guys. I do remember “Super Heroes.” I suppose we’ve discovered a paradox here, though. The monsters attack Townsville because the Powerpuff Girls live here. Townsville is in danger due to the Powerpuff Girls. But the PPG saves Townsville from monsters who were attracted to it by the girls- ahh. Zoggie’s Paradox. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/125 "2001-08-21T21:52:08Z")
How come Archie hasn’t noticed that Betty and Veronica look exactly alike except for hair color? ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/126 "2001-08-21T22:05:06Z")
**Jughead’s S.** The S on Jughead’s sweatshirt did mean something specific. _Archie_ creator Bob Montana never told anyone what it meant, and when he died (roughly twenty years ago) he took the secret to his grave. Jughead still wears his S, and now, only he knows what it means. **Popeye’s violent tendencies.** This question was asked by **City Gent** : > [@](#): > > Popeye is portrayed as some kind of hero. Yet, he solves all his problems by beating the piss out of people. Why hasn’t some Parents for Moral TV group seized on that? Is it just because TV stations don’t show much Popeye anymore? Well, moral groups were initially outraged by Popeye’s violent solutions to everything, and _Popeye_ creator E.C. Segar was pressured to tone things down, to make Popeye a nice guy, rather than the celebrated roughhouser that the world fell in love with back in the 1930s. Segar was appalled, and stated, “Nobody likes a sissy sailor.” The cartoons were mollified somewhat, with some moral messages slipping in, but Segar kept the good old-fashioned violence coming. After Segar’s untimely death in 1938, Popeye seemed to find himself on the good end of a good/evil dichotomy, where you had characters like Brutus/Bluto or the Sea Hag or Poopdeck Pappy representing pure avarice or amorality. Wrecked the whole strip, I say. _Popeye_ heir Bobby London attempted to return the strip to its roots with his 1986 book _Mondo Popeye_, which featured the citizens of Sweet Haven in modern situations: Olive Oyl is addicted to the Home Shopping Channel, Wimpy is a fast food junkie, the Sea Hag is a ruthless real estate developer, etc. while Popeye himself remains a quixotic warrior against the encroaching screweduppedness of the modern world. **Back to Jughead.** I don’t think he’s gay. He used to say that he wanted nothing to do with girls, and I recall his frequent pronouncements that women are a waste of time and money, both of which are better spent on food. Mysteriously, Jughead discovered girls after 35 years or so, back in the mid-1970s. I guess he was about that age… I have a question: does anyone know what Jughead’s real first name is? I know I’ve seen it in the comics before, though it doesn’t come up that often. I’m pretty sure it begins with an F, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/127 "2001-08-21T22:12:23Z")
**Bitterdrunk Kid** —I read an “interview” with **Popeye** once where he answered a number of frequently asked questions, one of which concerned his missing eye. He said, “I could tell ya how I lost me eye but that’s such a scary story it’d give you nightmares all day long.” That’s the closest I’ve ever heard, as far as an answer to that question goes. As to **Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale** : they’re not Soviets, despite their accents and Boris’s Russian-sounding last name and Natasha’s French-sounding one. They’re actually from Pottsylvania, a country whose entire population is a spy, and the national pasttime is stealing state secrets from other citizens. This was explained once in an episode in which Rocky and Bullwinkle actually went to Pottsylvania. Now I’m wondering: why do Boris and Natasha have Russian-sounding accents while Fearless Leader has a German-sounding one? They’re both from the same country, after all. ---
**Author:** ![saepiroth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@saepiroth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saepiroth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/128 "2001-08-21T23:02:42Z")
wow. this is “The Thread That Would Not Die”. first started in '99, ressurected in early 2000, came about AGAIN in late 2000, and now it returns for another go. nothing to add, i just thought that was neat. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/129 "2001-08-21T23:31:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dougie\_monty \* > \*\*Ms. McEldowney \*\* Brooke McEldowney, the artist of _9 chickweed Lane_ is a man. _Samurai Jack_ is amazing. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/130 "2001-08-22T02:51:37Z")
Does Sarah Bellum of **Power Puff Girls** have nieces or nephews? If she did, then she could be Auntie Bellum! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/131 "2001-08-22T03:35:37Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Demo \* \*\*Why would anyone fight over Olive Oil? She’s such a skank. 😉 * * * I have the first Popeye cartoon featuring Olive Oyl on video-- The boys meet her at a “marriage agency”, where fella’s used to go to select wives out of a catalogue. (Seriously.) They had a choice which included much more nubile women, which can only lead me to guess that there was something pretty saucy written up under her photo. Maybe about how she got her name? ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/132 "2001-08-22T04:06:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dougie\_monty \* > \*\*I have never seen a real duck, or a photograph of one, with Daffy’s coloring–black, with orange beak and feet and a narrow white ring around his neck. Is there any real-life duck so colored–or was Daffy meant by the cartoons’ creators to be unique? (He and his wife and kids, anyway.) \*\* I believe that Daffy Duck is really a loon. I mean the type of bird, which is black and has a white ring around its neck, not the obvious fact that he is simply looney. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/133 "2001-08-22T04:43:57Z")
The Pink Panther had two sons, Pinky and Panky. Where’s the Pink Pantheress? Dead or divorced? Also, why does Speed Racer have an “M” on his helmet? Not for the Mark V (Mach V?), that would be too easy. With Captain Marvel, what’s the secret origins of Mr. Mind (the worm) and Tommy (the tiger)? BTW Around Fred’s neck isn’t a scarf…its an ascot. He’s a stuck-up snob…RICH…on the run with his girlfriend, a frumpy nerd, a grunge-hippy and a great dane…trekking cross-country in a '65 custom chevy. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/134 "2001-08-22T17:45:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoggie \* > **Why don’t the PPG have noses or ears?** How come they don’t have fingers? How are they able to pick things up without fingers? ---
**Author:** ![Verrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/46a35a/32.png) [@Verrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Verrain)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/135 "2001-08-22T18:08:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jab1 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Zoggie \* > > **Why don’t the PPG have noses or ears?** > > How come they don’t have fingers? How are they able to pick things up without fingers? \*\* “Professor! Your hand doesn’t work!” Buttercup in the Professor’s body trying to pick up the hotline. I always assumed a low level telekinesis myself. That chemical X is just freaky stuff, man! ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/136 "2001-08-22T18:22:27Z")
Why am I not the least embarassed to be forty years old and piping in on a thread about kindergarten age little girl superheroes? At any rate did anyone see the PPG episide last night where everyone switched bodies? When Professor looked at his own hands there were five digits drawn in a more realistic style, when POV changed hands went back to the 'toon convention of three fingers and thumb. What’s the deal with that? Also, Ed, Edd & Eddy are patterned after me and everyone I knew as a kid. I demand royalties, paid in jawbreakers. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/137 "2001-08-22T18:28:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lumpy \* > \*\* > Wile E. Coyote: Why didn’t he starve to death? Well he was thin as a concentration camp inmate. Maybe he eked out a wretched subsistance on bugs and pureed cactus. That could be why he was so desperate to catch some **meat!** \*\* I always wondered how come he didn’t just eat the ACME delivery guy. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/138 "2001-08-22T18:47:51Z")
I always wondered how the PPG keep their shoes and socks on, with no discernable feet or ankles. Wouldn’t Mojo Jojo keep getting horrible brain infections, with his brain just sticking out like that? His brain hat breaks at the slightest tap; you think he could design something better; or Townsville Hospital could fit him with something. And whenever monsters destroy Townsville—or the PPG knock down buildings during a fight—hundreds of people must die horribly in the flames and rubble! How does that town keep its citizenship?! The creator of Archie died only about two years ago—but the Jughead debate was unresolved in his obits. And I think we allll know why Betty and Veronica don’t spend much time talking to each other about Archie (wink, wink) . . . ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/139 "2001-08-22T18:55:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I believe that Daffy Duck is really a loon. I mean the type of bird, which is black and has a white ring around its neck, not the obvious fact that he is simply looney. That complicates things, Waterj2. Daffy has referred to himself as “Duck–D-U-uck!” Also, in the cartoons “Duck! Rabbit! Duck!,” “Rabbit Fire” and “Rabbit Seasoning,” where Daffy, Bugs, and Elmer debate over whether it’s wabbit season or duck season, Daffy would have the perfect opportunity to say that, if he is a loon, duck season would not apply to him. (When is “loon season”?) ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/140 "2001-08-22T18:59:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chance the Gardener \* > \*\*I have a question: does anyone know what Jughead’s real first name is? I know I’ve seen it in the comics before, though it doesn’t come up that often. I’m pretty sure it begins with an F, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it is. \*\* I’m afraid to answer, because I may be right, but I think it was something like Forsythe P. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697.md?page=8)