Woman's Hilariously Wrong Answer About Popeye's Favorite Food on 'Family Feud Canada'

By Amanda Thomason January 14, 2020 at 11:45am

Word association is a very strong factor in how people understand each other and language in general. Games are based on it, misunderstandings crop up from it and some psychoanalysts even use it as the base for some of their assessments.

The thing is, words have connotations and implications that are not the same for everyone. That was made very amusingly clear in a recent episode of “Family Feud Canada.”

In the “sudden death” round of the episode, host Gerry Dee called up a contestant from each team to answer for a chance at the $10,000 grand prize. Logan Tomlin and Eve Dubois were poised, ready for the final question.

“Here we go,” started Dee. “Name Popeye’s favorite food.”

He was barely done saying “food” before Dubois smacked the button, and when Dee motioned to her to answer, she enthusiastically replied “Chickennnn!” while showing off a celebratory dance.

The audience laughed and the host collapsed in disbelief onto the game podium, his head buried in his arms. Dubois looked back at her family, where the female members of her family either threw up their hands despairingly or said “oh my goddd.”

In a moment that the internet has captured and immortalized in a screenshot, Dubois realized something was wrong with the answer she’d been so confident in and whipped her head back around, a look of shock on her face.

There was only one answer on the board, and “chicken” was not it. The turn went to Tomlin, who answered correctly: “Spinach, Gerry.”

“I thought you meant Popeyes Chicken!” Dubois said after Tomlin ran back to his team and the host once again collapsed in laughter. But too late, her chicken dance had caught on and her chance at the cash was gone.

Popeye’s favourite food is… chicken? #familyfeudcanada #surveysays #goodanswer #chicken

Watch Family Feud Canada Monday to Thursday on @CBC and #CBCGem! pic.twitter.com/HmI0zQLYFD

— Family Feud Canada (@FamilyFeudCa) January 10, 2020

The episode has provoked many comments, and while most people are finding the whole thing just hilarious, some are laughing and still rooting for Dubois.

Some people argued that the host should have said “Popeye the sailor man” to make the question less ambiguous. Others claimed that Popeye the sailor man never actually said spinach was his favorite food, it’s just what he ate to be strong.

The fact that the answer “spinach” was based on just 54 percent of people polled had many wondering what the other 46 percent said.

Would you have guessed 'spinach'?

Still others argued that the answer was generational: If you asked someone from an older generation (who actually watched the show), they’d have answered “spinach,” but if you ask anyone 30 or younger, they’re much more likely to answer “chicken” (especially with all the recent press on the chain’s notorious chicken sandwich).

Dubois may have cost her family a shot at the grand prize, but as some have pointed out, she may end up being the biggest winner yet.

“The other family may have won $10k (split between 5 people), but she’ll be raking in much more when she becomes the next ‘cash me outside’ girl,” predicted one commenter.

“Surely, that answer deserves free chicken for the rest of her life. Come on Popeyes, do the right thing,” wrote another, tagging Popeyes Chicken in their comment.

.@sublimevey! Our survey says you got that right. DM us to claim your $10,000 worth of Popeyes. #LoveThatChickenFromPopeyes https://t.co/OeCQYsG875 pic.twitter.com/LlfyaY83n7

— Popeyes Chicken (@PopeyesChicken) January 10, 2020

Popeyes Chicken responded by tweeting their offer to Eve Dubois. In their opinion, she gave the right answer, so they offered her their own “prize”: $10,000 worth of Popeyes Chicken.

And she didn’t even have to split it with her team. She may have caused an uproar and been laughed at, but she’ll have the last laugh as she enjoys her free meals for the foreseeable future.

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