Remember Wimpy?

I think you have to be of a certain age, because, as near as I can tell, they don’t show the old Popeye cartoons on Nickelodeon or the Cartoon Network. Wimpy lives on as a restaurant chain in the U.K. and now in the U.S., but I wonder how many patrons know his origins.

A minor character in Popeye cartoons, Wimpy was best known for his affection for hamburgers. If I start it, those of us of a certain age will be able to finish his signature line:
I will gladly…

…pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

See the genius? Wimpy is begging. However, he begins not with his own need but with what you will get if you meet that need.

Genius.