The E. coli outbreak has sparked an upsurge in stories about "the Sailor Man with the spinach can"

The title, Bloggers Blog: Spinach Warnings Lead to Unprecedented Rise in Spinach Blogging, is self-explanatory. Not surprisingly, many writers are referencing Popeye, "the Sailor Man with the spinach can," oftentimes tongue in cheek. One satirical example is The Spoof - Popeye The Sailor Man Panicked by Spinach Recall by Farrelly Sister, Gail. I yam another culprit who cited the sailor man with the "squinky" left eye.*

* NOTE: Some sloppy cartoonists have erroneously portrayed Popeye with the both eyes open.

The recent upsurge in spinach postings is not surprising. If fresh spinach is "finiched" (at least until the food and health watchdogs announce the coast is unequivocally clear to eat spinach safely), one must indulge other appetites. One is for fresh spinach substitutes.

Some posts on the subject are helpful, such as this excerpt from the Bloggers Blog spinach storm:

Official Information: The latest statement from the FDA can be found here. For FDA updates check the homepage or the alerts section. There is also this helpful page which contains only the spinach-related alerts. The CDC has also set up special page about the e.coli outbreak. (via Health News Blog)

Some others are pure fun. One example is Useless Movie Quotes - Popeye:

Popeye: How much is the broccoli?
Geezil: Nickel, maybe dime.
Popeye: And, the spinach?
Geezil: Dime, maybe quarter.
Popeye: Then how come carrots is a dollar?
Geezil: Dollar fifty. You buy what I don't feel like selling it cost you two dollars.

Not many characters have bested Popeye. Not dastardly gambler Jack Snork, who shot the sailor 15 times, and rarely Bluto the Terrible (later renamed Brutus to avoid confusion with Pluto). Consequently, Geezil should have known better than to get goony with Popeye.

Disinclined to pay even a single samolean (also spelled "samolian"), Popeye cuts Geezil's price down:

Popeye: [Takes the carrots and tosses Geezil a nickel]
Geezil: Ah ah. Nope, this is a nickel.
Popeye: I'm payin' what I feels like payin'.
The Tax Man: You're not up to no good are you? Because if you are there's a 25¢ up to no good tax.

DIALOGUE SOURCE - The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) - Memorable Quotes from Popeye (1980).

IMAGES SOURCE - Striplets about Popeye and his friends.

Spinach stories are also whetting penchants for pop culture. Apparently, blogging about spinach and Popeye is no trivial pursuit. For example, even Lisa Tolliver On Air and Online - Superman is to Kryptonite what Popeye is to....fresh spinach?! is "casking shadows" online. It blew me down to find, at press time, that "axskin' " Google to search "lisatolliver on air and online spinach popeye" returned this "intelligensk" at Allen Canning Company - Google Finance:

Blog Posts
Superman is to Kryptonite what Popeye is to....fresh spinach?!
lisatolliver - Sep 16, 2006 - Lisa Tolliver On Air and Online A second statue was erected in Alma, Arkansas, the self-proclaimed "Spinach Capital of the World" and home to Allen Canning, which markets Popeye-branded [...]

The Google Finance posting breaks there, but the "spinach storm" is still raging.###