Despite the iconic opening lyrics to his theme song, it seems that our favorite animated underwater fry cook, SpongeBob SquarePants, may actually live in more than just a pineapple under the sea. For years, fans have heralded a popular theory arguing that the reason behind Bikini Bottom’s hijinks-loving sea creatures, dramatic explosions, and perpetual penchant for “nautical nonsense” is much darker than meets the eye, stemming from the residual radioactive effects of nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. After all, how else would an everyday, ordinary sea sponge develop the complex sentience needed to lead what is definitively the greatest halftime performance in all of recorded history? Widely speculated to be the inspiration behind Bikini Bottom, Bikini Atoll is a very real location in the Marshall Islands known for withstanding several United States nuclear tests between 1946 to 1958, its residents still grappling with the radioactive aftermath of the atoll’s atomic past, a reality some fans claim carries over to the area’s purported cartoon inhabitants.
A theory long confined to the pages of Creepypasta, YouTube explainers, and fan forums, it seems the show’s speculative nuclear origin story has made its way offline and into the hallowed halls of Nickelodeon, finding acknowledgment – and even in some cases, acceptance – among members of the SpongeBob team, Cracked can exclusively confirm. According to one member of Nickelodeon’s creative promotions department who spoke under the condition of anonymity out of fear of professional retribution, the highly-popular Bikini Atoll theory is unofficial canon, functioning “as well-accepted fanfic” and finding “casual mentions” in discussions between colleagues working on or adjacent to the show.
“Within my team, it’s generally known about but not often talked about — mostly because we promote all the shows and don’t have much time for enjoying ourselves at all,” they joked, quipping that among their duties, speculating on the nuclear roots of SpongeBob is placed “deep down” — perhaps even at the “rock bottom” – of their to-do list.
Having first discovered the show’s proposed atomic connection while presumably perusing the bowels of Reddit, Twitter, or possibly Tumblr long before their Nickelodeon tenure, the staffer says they bought into the SpongeBob conspiracy as much as they did other fan theories. “It definitely seemed legit at the time,” continued the employee, who says they still believe in Bikini Bottom’s connection to Bikini Atoll.
First emerging on Reddit approximately nine years ago, according to ScreenRant, fans have cited several pieces of evidence in arguing Bikini Bottom’s status as a radioactive hellhole. As some armchair sleuths noted that the show’s undersea residents often sport 1940’s fashions and mannerisms, traits that may hint at the time period in which the radioactivity began kicking in, others referenced an unverified script purporting to be the series’s pilot featured on SpongeBob‘s Fanon Wiki. “Welcome, one and all, to Bikini Atoll,” read the first line of the alleged script. “It’s a bit boring, but I guess everything in the human world is boring.” Because as we all know, nothing says ‘total snoozefest’ like grappling with nuclear fallout – just ask the eight million people who watched HBO’s Chernobyl.
The most explosive evidence hinting at this conspiracy, however, stems from a 2001 episode entitled “Dying for Pie.” Centering around detonating delicacies, the episode ends with a bang – literally – as our leading sponge presents Squidward with an explosive pastry from a pocket of his world-famous square pants. “Oh, you mean this pie!” he says with a grin. “I was saving it for us to share. Let’s eat!” As he hands the pie off to his panicked pal, tragedy strikes when SpongeBob trips over a rock and tosses the pie into Squidward’s terrified face, prompting an explosion so grand, it warrants its a live-action cutaway to what appears to be vintage footage of an atomic blast.