Top 10 Things You Didn't Notice in SpongeBob SquarePants
#10: 2001: A Sponge Odyssey
“Sandy’s Rocket”
If you’re going into space, you might as well pack some light reading… or heavy reading depending on how long the voyage is. Light or heavy, there’s no gravity anyway. When SpongeBob and Patrick launch Sandy’s rocket, several items float by as they leave Earth. Among Sandy’s inventory is a book entitled “2001,” a nod to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi film and its subsequently released companion novel. The music even sounds a bit like the classical pieces that Kubrick used in his picture. We don’t know about you, but if we went to space, we’d probably pack “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. On that note, another episode makes a sneaky reference to one of Gandalf’s most famous lines: “Keep it secret, keep it safe.”
#9: Uncle Sherm’s Namesake
“Krab Borg”
Over the years, we’ve met many of SpongeBob’s relatives and ancestors. In Season 3, SpongeBob name-drops another member of the SquarePants family. Having watched a scary movie, SpongeBob fears that anyone he knows could be a robot, including his Uncle Sherm. At the time we all thought, “Uncle Who?,” having never seen or heard of the character before. That’s because SpongeBob’s voice actor, Tom Kenny, improvised the line. He apparently got the name from Sherm Cohen, who served as a storyboard supervisor on this episode and various others. Uncle Sherm would later be written into the show as Stanley S. SquarePants’ father. We’ve only seen photos of Uncle Sherm, however. We wonder if Sherm Cohen can also fit a watermelon up his nose…
#8: What’s In the Box?
“The Secret Box”
We never thought we’d say this in a “SpongeBob” video, but spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen “SE7EN.” In this episode, SpongeBob becomes obsessed with seeing what’s inside Patrick’s secret box. The premise eerily calls David Fincher’s 1995 psychological thriller to mind, particularly when Detective Mills opens a box with his wife’s head seemingly inside. You might think we’re grasping at straws, but one line clearly indicates that the “SpongeBob” writers knew what they were referencing: Who said that “SpongeBob” was just for kids? Thankfully, there’s no head in Patrick’s box, although Patchy the Pirate does send SpongeBob his head in another episode. Ernest Hemingway once wrote ‘Bikini Bottom is a fine place and worth fighting for.’ We agree with the second part.
#7: Hot Sauce Drop
“Karate Choppers”
Tom Kenny has made a few live-action appearances on the show, most notably as Patchy the Pirate. Before Patchy’s debut, Kenny popped up as another live-action character. During a heated karate match, SpongeBob finds himself at Sandy’s mercy when she whips out a bottle of Volcano Sauce. The hot sauce is so intense that a single drop sprouts a satanic red face. This is none other than Kenny, who shot the scene in a Nickelodeon bathroom with red makeup all over his face. According to Kenny, he had an audition after filming the hot sauce bit, but he didn’t get all the makeup off. So, he wound up going to the audition looking like his blood pressure was off the charts.
#6: Patchy Was Here
“Sailor Mouth”
Taking out the trash, SpongeBob comes across a series of anecdotes written on the dumpster. We can’t recite all of them without getting bleeped, but some of the most amusing ones include “Dogfish ♥s Catfish,” “Starfish Rool,” and “Squidward Smells.” The highlight is a line that reads, “Patchy Was Here.” Although we’re not sure how he would’ve gotten to Bikini Botton, there’s no doubt that Patchy the Pirate wrote this. Perhaps Patchy was dumpster diving for SpongeBob’s discarded items to add to his collection. We also like to think that Patchy is the mystery character who wrote one of 13 bad words on the dumpster. It’d make sense for a pirate to have a sailor mouth.
#5: SpongeBob’s Birthday
“Sleepy Time” & “No Free Rides”
In the first season, SpongeBob dreams about getting his driver’s license, a notion too good to be true. If you pause, you’ll find that the ID includes SpongeBob’s address, height, weight, and - most notably - his birthday: July 14, 1986. Being a dream, you might assume that this date isn’t canon, especially since the show doesn’t follow much continuity. The following season when SpongeBob does get his license, though, it possesses the same date of birth. With all subsequent appearances of SpongeBob’s license, his birthday is absent. Nevertheless, July 14 is considered his official birthdate, which is just one day after Tom Kenny’s, July 13. So, if SpongeBob was born in 1986, would he be in his mid-30s now? How much is that in sponge years?
#4: Lost Treasures Found
“Lost and Found”
Going through the Krusty Krab’s lost and found, SpongeBob comes across an assortment of “bric-a-bracs,” “gee-gaws,” and “tchotchkes” from past adventures. In the background, you can spot a stack of soda drinking hats, which weren’t nearly as rare as collectors initially thought. On another shelf, there’s Squidward’s soufflé from “Naughty Nautical Neighbors” and one of the show’s many obscure Finland references. The scene even includes several callbacks to “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” including a Goofy Goober guitar and costume, King Neptune’s crown, and what might be the magical bag of winds. Or maybe that’s just a regular bag, but we like to use our “imagination.” Speaking of which, is that the “idiot box” or a regular box?
#3: SpongeBob’s Collection of Thingamabobs
“SpongeBob's Place” & “Plankton Gets the Boot”
It appears SpongeBob also saved one of those soda drink hats for himself. It resurfaces in Season 10 with many other familiar items in SpongeBob’s house. His collection of callbacks includes a Glove World balloon, the Magic Conch Shell, a fishhook from “Hooky,” his F.U.N. song ukulele, and the Eels and Escalators game. Eels and Escalators pops up again in the subsequent episode, as do several more toys and board games. To pass the time, SpongeBob breaks out Whirly Brain, Pretzel Pals, The Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy Paddle Ball Set, Patrick! The Game, Pin-the-tail-on-the-seahorse, and The Flying Dutchman’s Treasure Hunt, all while snacking on Kelpo and Krusty Krab Pizza. What Fun… hey, we spot the letters F, U, and N too!
#2: The Number 11
Various
Just as Squidward can’t get rid of SpongeBob, the Number 11 also follows him everywhere. When SpongeBob decides to live among the jellyfish, Squidward bets that he won’t last more than 11 minutes. When stranded with SpongeBob and Patrick, Squidward asks why every 11 minutes of his life must be so miserable. Obviously, this can only mean one thing: a conspiracy! Or, it could just be alluding to the fact that most “SpongeBob” episodes are roughly 11 minutes long. So, what feels like a short time to us is an eternity to Squidward. 11, in general, seems to be a bad omen on this show, whether it’s someone saying the 11th naughty word or someone exploding from a pie bomb for the 11th time.
#1: SpongeBob’s Birthday Guests
“SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout” (2019)
While the verdict is still out on SpongeBob’s age, the show celebrated its 20th birthday in 2019. In this special, a shoal of characters returns for SpongeBob’s big day. The guest list includes Princess Mindy from the first movie, the scrawny TV shark from “MuscleBob BuffPants,” Monty P. Moneybags from “Artist Unknown,” the eel who takes SpongeBob’s ice cream in “Walking Small,” Frank the whale from “Ripped Pants,” and a couple of creatures from “Rock Bottom”... to name a few. Some of SpongeBob’s enemies even show up, such as the Tattletale Strangler and Flats the Flounder. As a bonus, the voice of Flats and the Strangler, Thomas F. Wilson (aka Biff from “Back to the Future”), also makes a live-action cameo as a dog walker.