Was spinach once considered the ultimate vegetable? Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time reading my daughter the classic children’s story The Little Engine That Could, which lists all the good things the circus train is carrying for the girls and boys on the other side of the mountain. In the food category, in addition to big golden oranges, red-cheeked apples, etc., we find “fresh spinach for their dinners.” When called upon to read this line, needless to say, I gag and substitute something more palatable and nutritious, such as Fritos. But the mention of spinach has gotten me to thinking about the old Popeye the Sailor comic, where a timely can of spinach unfailingly endows Popeye with super strength, sort of like reverse kryptonite. What magical qualities did people think spinach had that warranted such a shameless campaign of propaganda to get kids to eat it? As a child I regarded spinach as inedible mush and nothing I have learned about it since has made me change my mind. –Frank C., Chicago
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Writers aiming at the younger crowd felt compelled to do their bit, too. By far the champ in this line was Elzie Segar, the creator of Popeye, who first appeared in Segar’s comic strip Thimble Theatre in January 1929. (The main attraction previously, believe it or not, had been Olive Oyl.) The oddly built sailor was an immediate hit, and apparently so was his favorite vegetable. Whether Segar was in the pay of the spinach interests we do not know, but it seems significant that six years later a statue of Popeye was erected in the town square of Crystal City, Texas, the center of a major spinach-growing region.
Why, the promise of obtaining some clue what it’s all about, Alfie. Isn’t that enough?
