J. Wellington Wimpy: War hero and hamburger ambassador

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Wimpy is a pathetic man. He's a lazy, gluttonous, cowardly, self-centered con artist. He's the classic low-status character attempting to put on airs, donning an attitude of superiority to hide his destitution. 

He's poorly dressed, frequently bereft of money and housing, and he fails over and over again to put his brain to good use. But, despite all this, Popeye calls him a friend. 

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today". So rang out J. Wellington Wimpy's famous catchphrase, repeated shamelessly for time immemorial. Imagine being famous for guiltlessly mooching off of your own best pals.

 But did you know Wimpy is also a bit of a war hero? Or, at least his name was, technically.

That's because, during World War II, Wimpy lent his name to a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. The Vickers Wellington, nicknamed "The Wimpy," was tremendously effective in raids on Cologne, Essen, and other German cities.

According to a 1942 article in the News and Record, "The Wellington bomber got its name from the comic strip character, who is well known to all English soldiers because the Popeye strip appears in the London Daily Mirror, one of the two most widely circulated of English papers among the military forces. Incidentally, J. Wellington Wimpy's consuming passion for hamburgers was responsible before the war for the introduction and popularization of this typically American 'amburger in England."

So, the next time you want to dismiss Wimpy for being a lousy mooch, just remember: J. Wellington Wimpy is a veteran of the Allied armed forces, and deserves to be venerated with the greatest of heroes. 

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11 Comments

forthekids 11 months ago
"Wimpy" was employed in some of the Fleischer"Popeye"movie cartoons..he played judges of contests and he was a cop in one cartoon"Choose Yer Weapons"(Although not a very reliable one).He also played a court judge in"Assault & Flattery" in a Paramount/Famous "Popeye" movie cartoons. And he played a not too reliable plumber in"Plumbing Is A Pipe".
Bapa1 11 months ago
Next 4th of July, have an eating contest between Wimpy, Jughead Jones, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo. Winner gets his stomach pumped.
Deleted 11 months ago
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LoveMETV22 11 months ago
Although probably not a franchise practice to locate next door to another chain. It would be interesting if a Wimpy's and Popeye's were to locate next door to each other. 🤔
Bricat2001 11 months ago
there used to be a Hardees and a McDonalds that were right next to each other 45 minutes from here, the Hardee's recently closed thou which was sad cuz i like their burgers better than McDonalds :(
MrsPhilHarris 11 months ago
I can remember eating at Wimpy when I was in the UK.
Andybandit 11 months ago
Wimpy was a strange character on Popeye.
justjeff 11 months ago
...and this article appeared on National Cheeseburger Day... but I'd hate to see his cholesterol levels...
LoveMETV22 justjeff 11 months ago
....and today is Tuesday....So should we check back with Wimpy to see if he is still glad? 🤣
justjeff LoveMETV22 11 months ago
Indubitably!
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