How long did Popeyes spinach “fix” last?
The Popeye cartoons were never consistent in depicting exactly when Popeye needed spinach and how long the effects would last. In many, many cartoons, he is able to do superhuman stunts, withstand lots of punishment, and escape dangerous situations BEFORE he eats any spinach! And in other cartoons, like Rodeo Romeo, Popeye The Ace Of Space, and Toreadorable, he is taking “booster shots” of spinach throughout the film in order to do anything extraordinary, so obviously, spinach must wear off!!! Segar’s original comic strips made more sense in this regard. In them, Popeye was just always super strong and invulnerable because he had eaten spinach all his life. (At the time, spinach was being touted in the papers as a healthy food and a good source of iron. Segar picked up on that, so when he was asked, “Why is Popeye so strong?” he answered, “Because he eats spinach.”) Only rarely, in EXTREME situations, did Segar’s Popeye ever need to eat spinach “on camera.
