For many of us, SpongeBob Squarepants was the most quintessential cartoon of our childhood. There was just something about that lovable yellow sponge, and all of his undersea friends, that made the show so awesome. A lot of people still think so today, as the show is still airing and going strong in 2017. The overall quality of the show has gone down a bit every year since the movie came out, but the first few seasons will always be timeless classics.
When a show gets popular, the development of fan-theories and conspiracies is a common occurrence, and SpongeBob is no exception. There are quite a few SpongeBob conspiracies that are absolutely mind blowing. As with any conspiracy, they are fun to think about and add a new dynamic to watching the show. Here are three examples of some crazy SpongeBob conspiracies.
1. The characters are all results of nuclear radiation.
In the 40s and 50s, the United States conducted nuclear testing in Bikini Atoll at the Marshall Islands. As a result, a lot of radiation was sent underwater. Nickelodeon has said that SpongeBob's town, Bikini Bottom, is in fact located underwater in Bikini Atoll. With this knowledge, many fans believe that the weird mannerisms the characters all display is the result of being a "mutant." They claim that these characters, like a sponge that wears pants, a snail that meows, and a starfish that talks, were created in the show's world by the underwater radiation. In addition to all this, whenever there's an explosion in the show, a nuclear-like mushroom cloud forms. This is a very plausible conspiracy.
2. In an early episode where SpongeBob and Squidward turn into snails, there is an alleged deleted scene of Squidward turning into a snail on screen, which was deleted following the original airing for being too scary.
In an episode from the first season called "I Was a Teenage Gary," SpongeBob, and eventually Squidward, turn into snails as the result of accidentally injecting themselves with snail plasma. In the episode, we see SpongeBob's transformation into a snail. He then goes to Squidward's house to get help, scaring Squidward and ensuing chaos that leads to snail plasma being injected into Squidward. The scene then cuts to SpongeBob and Squidward as snails on a fence meowing along with Gary to "Blow the Wind Down."
According to legend, in the first airing of the episode on October 28, 1999, Squidward was shown on screen transforming into a snail just like SpongeBob was, but the scene was considered too scary and subsequently taken out. People who believe this say the evidence is in the scene transition, as it's an awkward cut rather than the traditional bubble transition. There are also people who swear they saw the scene.
However, this conspiracy was officially debunked in 2016, when a VHS containing the original recording was found without the scene, and an uncut Polish version that also didn't contain the scene was put on the internet. It's also believed that the creators once commented on the conspiracy, saying they never even storyboarded a Squidward transformation. I actually kind of wish this conspiracy was true, as the scene would have been cool to see.
3. Every character in the show is addicted to some kind of drug.
As outrageous of a conspiracy this is for a kids show, it's an extremely well-known one. The conspiracy is that each character is hooked on a different drug. SpongeBob is on mushrooms because of his very erratic personality and adventures. Patrick smokes weed because he's extremely lazy, simple minded, and an eater. Each character has a personality that connects them to a drug. It's believed that there are several subtle adult references within the SpongeBob series, so there's a very good chance this conspiracy could actually be true. Regardless, the theory does work.
There are plenty of other SpongeBob conspiracies out there, and it's apparent that more will come about in the future.
