What is tattooed on Popeye's arm?

One of Popeye's more iconic physical characteristics is that of his oversized forearms, which further contain another element symbolic of the character: matching tattoos, undetailed and depicting a pair of anchors. Throughout his screen and comics history, Popeye has been consistently depicted wearing these tattoos - which have only rarely been shown to animate in a cartoony fashion - and they remain largely unchanged, with some exceptions: the live-action Popeye film gave him smaller, more colorful and differently-shaped anchors, while the test footage shown for the upcoming animated feature has him devoid of such iconic elements as his pipe and the tattoos, ostensibly to keep objectionable elements out of the children's film. However, production has been put on hold and no such changes have been made official yet.

Bluto in the animated cartoons has a tattoo that is much more nebulous in character. It depicts a battleship that covers much of his pectoral region. It is capable of rising out of the water as an indicator of his ire, firing actual missiles at an opponent, and sinking beneath the waves as an indicator of his defeat. It is not seen much of the time, even in cartoons where Bluto remains shirtless.

Popeye's arm tattoos are some of the elements that distinguish him from his almost-identical father, Poopdeck Pappy, who has been known to shave and draw fake tattoos on his arms in order to be mistaken for his more-famous son.