No, not the plaintive cry of a potato, but the words of the most famous cartoon spinach-eater: Popeye.

Not true for much longer. In a few hours time the copyright on the sailor will expire. Our EU overlords only allow his creator, Elize Segar (who died aged 43), 70 years of rights before anyone can exploit the £1.5 billion annual revenue of Popeye, Olive Oyl and Blutto.

Fancy making Popeye t-shirts or drawing cartoon strips? Wait for a few more hours and then help yourself. No permission or royalty payments required any more.

First turning up in Thimble Theatre comic strip in Depression 1929 and making it to the silver screen in 1933, Popeye was tormented by Bluto/Brutus until he “can’t stands it no more” and bulks up with spinach to overcome his foe.

Our EU enemies are harsher than the US who protect copyright for 95 years – 2024 in this case – but King Features own the Popeye trademark and aren’t expected to go down without a struggle on this one. Disney obtained a special extension on Mickey Mouse copyright until 2023 from Congress but the clock is ticking on them as well.

Stupid fact:
The burger-crazy character J. Wellington Wimpey gave his name to the Wimpey restaurant chain. If you get that in a pub quiz then you owe TheEye a beer.