All of us have grown up watching Popeye and his antics after eating his spinach. If your mother was like mine, she took full advantage of Popeye’s spinach eating gusto to push me eat mine too.

At the time, I thought the toon was funny though cockamamie. So, when I found out that  scientists had discovered that spinach protiens and bacteria can be used to harness solar power, I was dumbfounded. Here was Popeye’s awesome predictive powers that I never knew! Rick Riordian should have based his oracles trilogy on Popeye rather than that jaded and whining Apollo!

Photosynthesis is a natural process that has evolved to harness solar power. Biohybrid solar cells were created, and the Popeye cartoon suddenly made a lot more sense to Kanika and me. Could he be guzzling spinach to power up his solar cells?

Sunlight is the god particle of the holy trinity of sunlight, CO2 and water.  Recent research has shown that adding blackberry dye to the spinach proteins makes the solar cells significantly more efficient. So Kanika made up the following new Popeye song:

I’m Popeye the sailor man

Glugging spinach from a can

Adding blackberry garnish

Makes me strong to the finish

I’m Popeye the solar man

Tyu tyu

Read Kanika’s take here.

GIF source: GIFHY