Emerald Pellot graduated summa cum laude from New York University with a degree in Writing & Popular Culture. She worked as Senior Editor of College Candy for 2 years, covering feminism, popular culture, and college life before joining LittleThings in 2015. Based in New York City, Emerald covers a wide range of topics from human interest pieces to celebrity news.

Jeff Dabe was born in 1963, a happy, healthy little boy. Doctors couldn’t find a single condition that would explain what would soon become increasingly clear: Dabe is a real life Popeye.


That little boy was born with unusually large hands that kept on growing with him, although there is no scientific explanation for them.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota looked for gigantism or elephantiasis but there was no trace; Dabe was just blessed with superhuman-like forearms.

While some see differences as negative, others see them as inspirational: Take for instance the man born with no arms who plays the guitar with his feet like a pro!


“People freak out when they see my hands in real life,” he says. However, Dabe has never really seen his unusual arms as a burden — and why should he? The remarkable limbs made joining the arm wrestling team in high school a breeze.

“I arm wrestled as a senior in high school. The fans way back then were the ones that named me Popeye,” Dabe said.

Unfortunately, in the late ’80s, he popped his right arm and gave up arm wrestling, although that isn’t quite the end of his tale.

See the rest of Jeff “Popeye” Dabe’s larger-than-life story below and SHARE if you think his arms are special gift!