The concept of Popeye’s strength coming from spinach was based on incorrect nutritional info. In 1870, German chemist Erich von Wolf was researching the nutritional benefits of spinach and put the decimal point in the vegetable’s iron content in his notes: 35mg instead of 3.5mg. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Popeye’s Spinach A Lie
Why would the high iron content be associated with super strength anyway? Iron is needed so the blood can carry oxygen, so yes, you would be weak without it due to hypoxia, but taking more than what you need wouldn’t give you extra strength.
Common mistake, but 35mg instead of 3.5mg doesn’t come from an error with a decimal point. The 35mg are absolutlely correct, but the spinach wich was examined was dried spinach not fresh spinach – since fresh spinach contains about 90% water, dried spinach contains ten times as much nutritional values. It is even visible in the picture: “100 g Trockensubstanz” (last line before the chart) means “100 grams of dry substance”.
And furthermore: It wasn’t german chemist Erich von Wolf in 1870, but the swiss Gustav von Bunge in 1890, who made this non-mistake (the names Bunge and that of his colleague Häusermann) are also to be found in the small text pictured).
So, for a site that claims to show facts, this one is pretty bad checked…