Popeye's favourite food is . . . chicken? Manitoba woman's Family Feud answer goes viral
Remember that line from Popeye's famous song, "I'm strong to the finich 'cause I eats me chicken?"
No, nobody does, because it isn't a thing.
But Eve Dubois, perhaps more than anyone, is now going to forever remember Popeye's energy boost comes from spinach.
The young woman from the town of Lorette, just southeast of Winnipeg, appeared with her family on the nationally broadcast CBC game show Family Feud Canada on Thursday.
In a sudden death moment — with one family moving on to play for a chance at $10,000 — Dubois faced off against Logan Tomlin from Waterloo, Ont.
The winner would be whoever buzzed in first and gave the correct answer. Host Gerry Dee set the stage and delivered the question: Name Popeye's favourite food.
With the confidence of a champion and the swagger of a peacock, Dubois slapped the buzzer first and delivered her answer in a sing-songy voice.
"Chickennnnn," she said, breaking into a celebratory shoulder shimmy and dance.
Clearly she thought she nailed it.
Only, she wasn't thinking of the cartoon character sailor man. Dubois thought it was the Popeyes chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants.
The moment she realized she'd missed the mark?
It wasn't the audience laughter or Dee bending over and lowering his head. Dubois kept smiling and shimmying through all of that.
It was "when I looked at my mom and she gave me the death glare," Dubois told CBC Radio Noon host Marjorie Dowhos on Friday. "I was like, what did I do? What's wrong, why aren't you clapping for me?
"I thought I was going home with the win."
Her mom was leaning forward, shoulders shrugged and palms-up in a "what the …?" gesture. Her sister had her hands pressed against her head in disbelief.
"Then I realized I totally messed up," Dubois said.
Still smiling, she sheepishly walked back to her family after Logan correctly answered, sending his family to the final round.
"I think everyone was just kind of shocked and a little upset," Dubois said about her family. "They were like, 'what were you thinking?' And I was like, I don't think I was thinking. It kind of just came out and when I'm nervous I dance."
Dubois said she is well familiar with Popeye the sailor and watched the cartoons as a kid.
"That's the sad part. I know exactly who he is and I know he loves spinach.… In my head, I thought the question was, 'what's the most famous thing to eat at Popeyes,'" she said.
"I wasn't listening. I just wanted to hit that buzzer so hard."
The other funny part — she's never eaten at Popeyes.
That may change, though — later Thursday, the restaurant chain reached out to Dubois on Twitter, offering her $10,000 worth of fried chicken.
A clip of Dubois's answer has swept through social media, showing up on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and anywhere else people share content.
"I'm feeling great, and shocked to be honest," Dubois said Friday, responding to the viral explosion of her clip.
She has been so inundated with phone calls and emails that she had to take Friday off from work to deal with the attention.
"It's insane. I've been up since 6 a.m.," she said, noting the calls are coming from media in Canadian and United States.
"I had Bubbles, from Trailer Park Boys, tweet me."
Another tweet came from comedian Drew Carey, host of the U.S.-based TV game show The Price Is Right, who said, "I honestly can't get enough of this one."
Even though she knows the correct answer now, Dubois has been reassured by friends who thought she nailed it, too.
"Most people agree with me. They said that that's what they would have said," Dubois said.
And best of all, her family has forgiven her.
"My mom said it's the best thing that could've happened out of the worst situation," Dubois said.
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