184 Fun Facts About SpongeBob SquarePants

What is SpongeBob SquarePants' pet snail's name?

Gary the Snail has lived with SpongeBob since the very first episode, 'Help Wanted', and is walked on a leash and fed from a bowl like a house pet.

Where does SpongeBob SquarePants work?

SpongeBob works at the Krusty Krab, the burger restaurant Mr. Krabs owns and runs; it is his dream job, and he treats every shift there as a joy.

What is the name of Plankton's computer wife?

Karen is Plankton's computer wife (full name Karen Plankton), who supplies most of the schemes he uses against the Krusty Krab.

What instrument does Squidward play?

The clarinet, plus painting: Squidward has a passion for both art and music and no actual talent for either.

In 'Big Pink Loser', what does Patrick shout when phone callers ask for the Krusty Krab?

'No, this is Patrick!' is his reply, angrier with every call, when callers ask 'Is this the Krusty Krab?': he thinks they are calling him by that name, and the outburst lives on as an internet meme.

What type of animal is Sandy Cheeks?

Squirrel Sandy is a land mammal, so she wears a diving suit outside her air-filled home; visitors from the sea have the opposite problem and must wear helmets full of water.

In which real ocean is SpongeBob's home town, Bikini Bottom, set?

The Pacific Ocean: the town lies on the seabed beneath Bikini Atoll, a real coral reef, which is where the 'Bikini' in its name comes from.

Which real holiday is SpongeBob excitedly celebrating when he makes himself a Bubble Buddy?

Leif Erikson Day: SpongeBob wakes up thrilled about the holiday but feels lonely, so he makes a friend out of soap bubbles and proudly shows him off around town.

What does SpongeBob live in?

A pineapple: in season 1 a swarm of hungry nematodes devours SpongeBob's house, and he is about to move back in with his parents when his tears water the last seed and a new one sprouts.

SpongeBob overtook which older Nicktoon's 172 episodes to become Nickelodeon's most prolific cartoon?

Rugrats had been shut down after 65 episodes before Nickelodeon revived it, and that second run carried it to 172; SpongeBob passed the total during his eighth season.

Who voices SpongeBob SquarePants?

Tom Kenny gave SpongeBob a laugh that was built to grate: the crew wanted an annoying laugh in the tradition of Popeye and Woody Woodpecker.

Which burger staple did a SpongeBob producer reveal has never been in a Krabby Patty?

Meat: producer Vincent Waller said creator Stephen Hillenburg let slip that the patty contains no animal product at all, and the show's writers avoid ever showing fish as food.

What is Plankton's first name?

Sheldon J. Plankton once summoned his whole family to help him steal the secret formula, remembering them as evil geniuses like himself; a crowd of hillbilly cousins turned up instead.

Mr. Krabs is a crab, but what kind of animal is his teenage daughter?

A whale: Pearl towers over her crab father and the show has never explained how, because Stephen Hillenburg was firmly against revealing her mother in any episode.

Which elderly superhero duo star in SpongeBob and Patrick's favorite TV show?

Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy were voiced by Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway, approached because the show's creators loved their 1960s sitcom McHale's Navy; Adam West and Burt Ward, TV's Batman and Robin, later played their younger selves.

What color is SpongeBob's tie?

Red is the tie SpongeBob wears with a white shirt and brown square pants; an early colour sketch gave him the shirt and tie from the start, along with a red hat that the final design left out.

In the first SpongeBob movie, what are SpongeBob and Patrick trying to retrieve from Shell City?

In The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), SpongeBob and Patrick travel to Shell City to retrieve King Neptune's stolen crown, which Plankton had stolen as part of his plan to take over Bikini Bottom.

What is SpongeBob's favorite hobby outside work?

Jellyfishing means netting jellyfish like butterflies; when SpongeBob and Patrick take Squidward along in his full body cast to cheer him up, the queen jellyfish zaps him for his trouble.

Where does SpongeBob keep failing his driving test?

Mrs. Puff's Boating School has no keener student than SpongeBob, yet he has never passed: he tries his hardest on every exam, then turns into a reckless driver the moment he takes the wheel.

What does Patrick Star live under?

A rock is all the house Patrick needs: in the very first episode he calls out from it to talk a wavering SpongeBob into applying for his dream job.

What was Stephen Hillenburg's profession before creating SpongeBob?

Marine science educator Stephen Hillenburg taught visitors at California's Ocean Institute, where he drew a comic about tide-pool animals for his students; its sea creatures later grew into his cartoon's cast.

In the 'Band Geeks' episode, what song does Squidward's band perform at the Bubble Bowl?

'Sweet Victory' closes 'Band Geeks' at the Bubble Bowl; after Stephen Hillenburg died in 2018, more than a million fans petitioned for it to be played at the Super Bowl, whose halftime show then used a clip.

What is Squidward's last name?

His full name is Squidward Quincy Tentacles. Hillenburg built the first name from 'squid' and 'Edward'.

What is the name of Mr. Krabs' rival restaurant?

The Chum Bucket is run by Plankton, once Mr. Krabs' best friend, and sits directly across the street from the Krusty Krab.

What is Mr. Krabs' first name?

Eugene Harold Krabs was modelled on Hillenburg's former boss at a seafood restaurant, a red-haired, muscular ex-army cook; the crab's red shell stands in for the hair.

Who voices Patrick Star?

Bill Fagerbakke auditioned in a conference room where Hillenburg played him a tape of SpongeBob's voice and asked for a counterpoint; 'I do the big dumb stuff,' he says.

Which season 1 episode has SpongeBob lose his friends at Goo Lagoon by overdoing one joke?

'Ripped Pants' begins as an accident that gets a laugh; SpongeBob then splits his trunks on purpose until he fakes his own death while surfing and the beach walks off, and he wins everyone back with a song.

In 'Club SpongeBob', what kind of object is the Magic Conch Shell that SpongeBob and Patrick obey?

The Magic Conch is a pull-string toy: lost in the Kelp Forest, SpongeBob and Patrick obey its random answers while Squidward, who refuses to believe in it, fails to get home on his own.

What is the name of the tough-guy bar that SpongeBob tries to enter in 'No Weenies Allowed'?

The Salty Spitoon is the tough-guys-only club: Sandy gets past the bouncer at once, while SpongeBob keeps inventing ways to prove he is tough enough to be let in.

What species is Squidward actually, despite his name?

Octopus: Hillenburg borrowed the name from the squid, a close relative with ten limbs, because, as the character's voice actor put it, 'Octoward' just didn't work.

In "Krusty Krab Training Video", what was the Krusty Krab building before Mr. Krabs made it a restaurant?

It was a run-down retirement home called the Rusty Krab; Mr. Krabs bought it, converted it into a restaurant, and simply added a K to the old sign.

Which actor appears in live action as himself in the first SpongeBob movie?

David Hasselhoff plays himself and swims SpongeBob and Patrick home on his back; the crew built a 12-foot, 750-pound replica of him for the scene, which ended up in his own house.

In 'Jellyfish Hunter,' why does Mr. Krabs send SpongeBob out to catch every jellyfish he can?

Mr. Krabs wants to sell Jelly Krabby Patties: a blue jellyfish leads SpongeBob to the factory where the captured jellyfish are being squeezed for jelly, and he sets them all free.

Who leads the call-and-response 'Are you ready, kids?' at the start of the SpongeBob theme song?

Painty the Pirate is the talking oil painting that opens every episode; Pat Pinney supplies the voice, but the lips moving in the frame belong to creator Stephen Hillenburg.

What is Sandy Cheeks' home state?

Sandy Cheeks is from Texas and is very proud of her home state. In the episode 'Texas,' she sings a homesick song about missing Texas that almost makes her leave Bikini Bottom.

Which meme, typed in aLtErNaTiNg CaPs, uses an image from the episode 'Little Yellow Book'?

Mocking SpongeBob spread in May 2017; its frame comes from a scene where Squidward reads SpongeBob's diary aloud and reveals that he clucks like a chicken whenever he sees plaid.

Which catchphrase does SpongeBob chant on his way to work?

'I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!' is SpongeBob's march-to-work chant from the very first episode, so recognisable that the band AJR built their breakout single 'I'm Ready' around a sample of it.

Why does SpongeBob's Flying Dutchman haunt the seven seas?

His corpse became a window display instead of being buried: SpongeBob reads that origin in a comic book in 'Squidward the Unfriendly Ghost', then tries to lay a supposedly dead Squidward to rest.

What are SpongeBob and Squidward trying to deliver when they get stranded in a desert?

Along the way SpongeBob tries to teach Squidward the ways of the pioneers, and the 'Krusty Krab Pizza' song was born.

Who voices Squidward, SpongeBob's grumpy neighbour?

Rodger Bumpass rides a recumbent bicycle around Burbank, so the animators gave Squidward one too, a touch the actor calls his little inside joke.

In 'Graveyard Shift,' what does the Hash-Slinging Slasher use in place of the hand he sliced off?

Squidward's tale says the Slasher replaced his sliced-off hand with a rusty spatula, was hit by a bus, got fired at his own funeral, and returns every Tuesday night to the Krusty Krab.

In the prehistoric episode 'Ugh,' what is the name of SpongeBob's cave-dwelling ancestor?

SpongeGar, Patar and Squog discover fire when lightning strikes a piece of wood, then squabble over who gets to keep it; Patchy the Pirate presents the episode.

Which PBS series did SpongeBob overtake to become America's longest-running children's cartoon?

Arthur bowed out in 2022 with a finale that leaps ahead to show its hero grown up and drawing a book about his own childhood; SpongeBob stayed on air and took the record.

Who voices Mr. Krabs?

Clancy Brown, the brutal prison guard of The Shawshank Redemption, improvised Mr. Krabs' voice at his audition; he calls it 'piratey' with 'a little Scottish brogue'.

In 'Help Wanted', which swarm of ravenous customers does SpongeBob feed to win his job?

A stampede of anchovies overruns the Krusty Krab; SpongeBob, sent on a fool's errand for a hydro-dynamic spatula, somehow finds one and feeds the whole ravenous crowd, winning the job.

Squidward's house on Conch Street is themed after which kind of statue?

A moai, one of Easter Island's giant stone heads, is the model for Squidward's house; it stands wedged between the homes of SpongeBob and Patrick, the two neighbours he can never escape.

In 'Shanghaied,' what does SpongeBob use the Flying Dutchman's last wish for?

That their captor turn vegetarian is SpongeBob's wish, made so the Dutchman cannot eat them; it backfires when all three are turned into fruit and dropped in a blender.

Which actress provides the voice of Karen, Plankton's computer wife?

Jill Talley, a Midwesterner herself, gives Karen her flat Midwestern accent; away from the microphone she is married to the actor who voices SpongeBob.

What happens to Mrs. Puff, SpongeBob's boating teacher, when she is scared or injured?

Mrs. Puff is a pufferfish, so she inflates into a ball whenever SpongeBob's driving frightens or injures her; as a running gag she is also repeatedly jailed for the wreckage he causes.

What is the name of Plankton's pet amoeba?

Spot is the amoeba Plankton adopts to take his mind off the Krabby Patty formula; the villain grows fond of his barking, dog-like pet, then needs SpongeBob's help when Spot runs away.

In 'Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm', what does Patrick propose doing with Bikini Bottom?

Push it somewhere else: 'We should take Bikini Bottom and push it somewhere else!' is Patrick's answer to the Alaskan Bull Worm, and the scene became the 'Push It Somewhere Else Patrick' meme.

Which actor, also a writer on SpongeBob SquarePants, voices the villainous Plankton?

Doug Lawrence, credited as Mr. Lawrence, was Hillenburg's pick from the start, though Nickelodeon wanted a guest star for a villain planned for one episode; his own scripts then kept Plankton coming back.

What is Mr. Krabs' primary obsession?

Money matters so much to Mr. Krabs that in 'Born Again Krabs' the Flying Dutchman offers him a choice between SpongeBob and 62 cents, and he takes the change.

What slogan does Patrick coin that finally draws customers to Plankton's restaurant?

'Chum is Fum' is Patrick's fix for a sign he cannot read: baffled by Plankton's 'Chum is Metabolic Fuel', he rearranges its letters, and the misspelt slogan fills the place with customers.

What was the title of Stephen Hillenburg's animation-school thesis film about the theory of relativity?

Wormholes was screened at animation festivals, and at one of them cartoonist Joe Murray saw it and offered Hillenburg a director's job on his new Nickelodeon show.

What job does Squidward hold at the Krusty Krab?

Cashier is a job Squidward loathes: in 'Squid on Strike' he walks out and pickets the Krusty Krab after Mr. Krabs starts billing his staff for things like talking and breathing.

In which sport is Sandy Cheeks a champion?

Rodeo is Sandy's sport: when she heads home to defend her title, SpongeBob decides it is far too dangerous and brings the whole town along to 'rescue' her.

Which name did Stephen Hillenburg first want for SpongeBob, before lawyers ruled it out?

SpongeBoy was the plan, with the show titled 'SpongeBoy Ahoy!', until Nickelodeon's legal department found the name was already in use.

What kind of creature is Plankton, the tiny green villain of SpongeBob SquarePants?

A copepod: real ones are tiny crustaceans, most with a single eye in the middle of the head, which is just how the show draws its one-eyed villain.

What is SpongeBob SquarePants' job at the restaurant where he works?

Fry Cook is the job SpongeBob loves so much that he expects to be made manager of a second Krusty Krab in the 2004 movie; Mr. Krabs passes him over as too much of a kid.

What type of being is Plankton's sidekick and wife, Karen?

Karen was originally intended to be just Plankton's computer; voice actor Mr. Lawrence's writing turned her into his wife.

Stephen Hillenburg kept 'Sponge' in SpongeBob's name so viewers would not mistake him for what?

A block of cheese was the worry: forced to give up his first choice of name, Hillenburg kept 'Sponge' so that nobody would take his yellow, hole-pocked hero for a 'Cheese Man'.

Who voices Sandy Cheeks?

Carolyn Lawrence was discovered on a Los Angeles sidewalk: a friend's acquaintance, a casting director, liked her unusual voice and brought her in to audition for Sandy.

On which Nickelodeon series did Stephen Hillenburg work before creating SpongeBob SquarePants?

Rocko's Modern Life hired Hillenburg as a director for its first season in 1993; when it ended in 1996 he took many of its crew with him to make his own show.

Which company created an official 'SpongeBob SquarePants Yellow' shade for the show's 20th anniversary?

Pantone added 'SpongeBob SquarePants Yellow' and 'Patrick Star Pink' in 2019 so that Nickelodeon's licensing partners could match the characters' colours exactly.

Which Krabby Patty topping does Bubble Bass hide under his tongue to accuse SpongeBob of forgetting it?

In the season 1 episode 'Pickles', Bubble Bass claims SpongeBob forgot the pickles, shattering his confidence, until the pickles turn up hidden under Bubble Bass's tongue.

In 'Sailor Mouth', where do SpongeBob and Patrick first read the bad word?

In 'Sailor Mouth', SpongeBob reads the word off graffiti on the Krusty Krab's dumpster, and Patrick assures him it is just a 'sentence enhancer', so both start using it everywhere.

Which amusement park do SpongeBob and Patrick leave before boarding the wrong bus in 'Rock Bottom'?

Glove World is the glove-themed park they are heading home from; one wrong bus drops them in the deep-sea town of Rock Bottom, where Patrick catches the next ride home and SpongeBob keeps missing every bus after it.

What is the name of the enclosed, air-filled environment where Sandy Cheeks lives underwater?

The Treedome is Sandy's air-filled home on the sea floor, so the usual roles flip inside it: sea creatures who visit, SpongeBob included, have to wear water-filled helmets to breathe.

What was the title of Stephen Hillenburg's comic book that seeded many SpongeBob SquarePants characters?

The Intertidal Zone was hosted by a sea sponge; a colleague who read it urged Hillenburg to build a television series on it, and that sponge grew into his star.

Why did Stephen Hillenburg draw Squidward with only six limbs?

It was simpler to animate, Hillenburg explained; at first he also shelved jokes about Squidward squirting ink, because 'it always looks like he's pooping his pants'.

What do Mr. Krabs and his daughter live inside?

A hollow anchor is home to Mr. Krabs, an old navy man: when he moulted his shell just before a naval reunion, SpongeBob wore the empty shell and went in his place.

Before ordering the full series, what did Nickelodeon executives want SpongeBob to be?

A child in school was Nickelodeon's proven formula, as on Hey Arnold!; Hillenburg wanted an adult and was ready to abandon the show before a compromise let SpongeBob stay grown up.

What sound does SpongeBob's pet snail typically make?

Meow: snails fill the role of house cats in SpongeBob's undersea world, which is why his pet is kept, fed and fussed over exactly like a cat.

Unlike SpongeBob's square shape, what shape are his parents depicted as?

Round, like real sea sponges: Hillenburg's first sketches of SpongeBob looked that way too, until he squared him off into a kitchen sponge to match the character's 'square' personality.

In the 2004 SpongeBob movie, what does the dreaded Shell City turn out to be?

A gift shop: Shell City sells dried sea creatures as knick-knacks, and SpongeBob and Patrick are drying out under its heat lamp when their tears short the lamp and set off the sprinklers.

Which drawing comes to life and turns on SpongeBob after he finds a magic pencil?

A doodle of himself: in 'Frankendoodle' SpongeBob sketches a double to fool Squidward, but DoodleBob steals the pencil and runs riot until he is pressed into a book and becomes a flat drawing again.

On what date did SpongeBob SquarePants officially premiere on Nickelodeon in 1999?

The official premiere was July 17, 1999; a sneak peek of the pilot had aired after the Kids' Choice Awards on May 1.

Spongiforma squarepantsii, named after SpongeBob in 2011, is what kind of organism found in Borneo's forests?

A mushroom: researchers from San Francisco State University found the orange fungus in Borneo and named it for the cartoon because it is shaped, and squeezes, like a sea sponge.

What do SpongeBob and Patrick sell door to door to get rich in season 3?

In 'Chocolate with Nuts', SpongeBob and Patrick go door to door selling chocolate bars, chased by a customer who screams 'Chocolate!' and eventually buys every bar.

In 'Nasty Patty', what do SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs think they did to the health inspector?

In 'Nasty Patty', a tainted burger meant for a fake inspector goes to the real health inspector, who is knocked out cold; SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs think they have killed him and try to bury the body.

What do SpongeBob and Patrick name the baby scallop they raise in 'Rock-a-Bye Bivalve'?

In 'Rock-a-Bye Bivalve', SpongeBob and Patrick adopt an abandoned baby scallop they name Junior, with SpongeBob as the stay-at-home 'mom' and Patrick as the neglectful working 'dad'.

Which musician wrote and performed the guitar piece heard over the show's end credits?

Steve Belfer composed and performed the Hawaiian-style guitar piece that plays over the closing credits; Nicolas Carr serves as the show's music editor and main composer.

In 'Band Geeks', which condiment does Patrick ask Squidward about being an instrument?

Mayonnaise: when Patrick raises his hand at band practice to ask, Squidward's weary reply is 'No, Patrick, mayonnaise is not an instrument.'

Where was Stephen Hillenburg born?

Hillenburg was born in 1961 at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, where his father was stationed; the family soon moved to Anaheim, California, where he grew up.

Which SpongeBob character did Hillenburg himself originally voice?

Potty is the pet of live-action host Patchy the Pirate.

Hillenburg originally intended the 2004 SpongeBob movie to serve as what?

Hillenburg wanted the 2004 film to be the series finale; Nickelodeon kept the show going instead, and he stepped back from running it after the film.

Hillenburg was diagnosed with which disease in 2017?

Hillenburg announced in March 2017 that he had ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis); he kept working on the show as long as he could and died in November 2018, aged 57.

Which actress voiced the mermaid Princess Mindy in the 2004 SpongeBob movie?

Scarlett Johansson voiced Mindy, who sticks seaweed moustaches on SpongeBob and Patrick and tells them her mermaid magic has turned them into men, purely to stop them giving up.

Which film kept the SpongeBob movie from opening at number one in US cinemas in November 2004?

National Treasure opened at number one with the SpongeBob movie right behind it, and between them the two newcomers pushed The Incredibles out of the first place it had held.

Which ice cream parlour does SpongeBob binge at in the 2004 movie?

Goofy Goober's is where SpongeBob, passed over for a promotion, drowns his sorrows in sundaes with Patrick and wakes the next morning with an ice-cream hangover.

Which actor plays the pirate Burger Beard in Sponge Out of Water?

Antonio Banderas plays Burger Beard, the live-action pirate who steals the secret formula with a magical book that makes anything written in it come true.

Which 30 Rock star voiced Dennis, the hitman sent after SpongeBob in the 2004 movie?

Alec Baldwin voices Dennis, the biker hitman Plankton hires to stop the heroes; just as he raises his spiked boot to squash them, a far bigger boot comes down on him.

Where does SpongeBob travel to rescue his kidnapped pet snail in Sponge on the Run?

Atlantic City, the Lost City of Atlantic City in full, is where vain King Poseidon uses snail slime to keep his face young; Plankton ships SpongeBob's pet there to get its owner out of the way.

Which actor plays Sage, the tumbleweed spirit, in Sponge on the Run?

Keanu Reeves appears as Sage, a wise tumbleweed bearing Reeves' live-action face who guides SpongeBob and Patrick on their road trip; Tim Hill wrote and directed the film.

Sponge on the Run was the first SpongeBob film to be animated how?

Fully in stylized CGI: Sponge on the Run dropped the hand-drawn look of the earlier films, then lost its US cinema release to the pandemic and went out on streaming instead.

The 2021 prequel series about a ten-year-old SpongeBob sends him and his friends where?

A summer camp: Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years grew out of the childhood camp flashbacks in the film Sponge on the Run, which the crew then expanded into a full series.

Which made-up word does Patrick insist is the opposite of 'mini', conjugating it to prove his point?

Wumbo: Patrick decides the 'M' for mini on a shrink-ray belt should be flipped over to a 'W', then defends the word with a full conjugation: 'I wumbo, you wumbo, he, she, me wumbo.'

In the spin-off The Patrick Star Show, what does Patrick host from his family home?

A talk show: Patrick is the host of The Patrick Star Show, but it is his eight-year-old sister Squidina who works behind the scenes to keep the production running smoothly.

Tom Wilson, who voices Patrick's father Cecil, played which Back to the Future character?

Biff Tannen made Tom Wilson famous as a screen bully; long a SpongeBob guest voice, he also interviewed Hillenburg on his own podcast in 2012, years before he became Patrick's father on the spin-off.

Why did Hillenburg choose the animal he did for SpongeBob's grumpy neighbour Squidward?

He liked the species' large head: Hillenburg said the big, bulbous dome was the obvious fit for a character who 'thinks he's an intellectual'.

Hillenburg said starfish look 'dumb and slow' but are actually what?

'Very active and aggressive' was Hillenburg's verdict on the real animals, and he built the same contrast into one of his leads: slow and dopey on the surface, with a hidden temper.

Mr. Krabs' speaking manner was inspired by a restaurant owner from which state?

Hillenburg modelled Mr. Krabs on his former manager at a seafood restaurant in Maine, where he once worked as a cook; the man's accent and manner reminded him of a pirate.

After whom did Hillenburg name the villain Plankton's long-suffering partner?

His own wife: the character who borrowed her first name is no mere sidekick either, since most of Plankton's plans that come close to working are hers rather than his.

In 'Wormy', what does Sandy's little pet turn into overnight, sending the whole town into a panic?

A butterfly: nobody under the sea knows what one is, and after a close-up of its bristling insect face SpongeBob and Patrick decide a monster has eaten their friend and raise the alarm.

In 'The Two Faces of Squidward', what does SpongeBob slam into Squidward's face, making him handsome?

A door, swung open by accident, breaks his face; the plastic surgery that repairs it leaves Squidward so handsome that hospital staff faint and the whole town falls in love with him.

Who voices Mrs. Puff?

Mary Jo Catlett has voiced Mrs. Puff since 1999; she is also known as the housekeeper Pearl Gallagher on Diff'rent Strokes.

Which Adventure Time character is voiced by SpongeBob cast member Tom Kenny?

The Ice King, a lonely wizard who keeps kidnapping princesses, turns out to be a tragic figure: the magic crown that gave him his powers also drove him mad and wiped out the man he used to be.

What does Patrick name the unusual 'snail' he enters in 'The Great Snail Race'?

Rocky, a pet rock, never moves and still wins: SpongeBob's overtrained snail collapses near the finish, Squidward's pedigree racer Snellie turns back to comfort him, and Patrick's motionless entry takes the trophy.

SpongeBob cast member Bill Fagerbakke played 'Dauber' Dybinski on which sitcom?

Coach ran from 1989 to 1997 with Fagerbakke as the assistant coach 'Dauber'; for its last two seasons the coaching staff left their college team for Florida to run the Orlando Breakers, a fictional pro team.

Bill Fagerbakke played whose father on How I Met Your Mother?

Marshall Eriksen's father Marvin was Fagerbakke's role; his fatal heart attack closes the episode 'Bad News', which hides a countdown from 50 to 1 in the background before the news lands.

In 'Artist Unknown', where does an art collector say one of Squidward's paintings belongs?

In the trash: when Squidward unveils the painting as 'Bold and Brash', the collector laughs that it's 'more like belongs in the trash', and a janitor promptly throws it in the bin.

What do SpongeBob and Patrick throw away so they can play in the empty box it came in?

A giant television, in 'Idiot Box': they keep only the carton and let Squidward take the set, then conjure such convincing noises from pure imagination that he sneaks out at night to search the box for a trick.

Which DC villain has Clancy Brown voiced in animation since 1996?

Lex Luthor came to Brown by accident: he auditioned to play Superman in the 1996 animated series, was asked to read for the villain instead, and has kept the part across DC projects ever since.

In which Midwestern city did the SpongeBob musical have its world premiere before Broadway?

Chicago's Oriental Theatre staged the 2016 tryout; the show reached Broadway's Palace Theatre the next year and closed within ten months, when the Palace shut for a planned renovation.

Which Broadway musical tied SpongeBob SquarePants for the most Tony nominations in 2018?

Mean Girls and SpongeBob SquarePants led the field with twelve nominations each, yet The Band's Visit swept ten awards on the night and SpongeBob took home just one, for its scenic design.

Who directed and co-conceived the SpongeBob Broadway musical?

Tina Landau conceived and directed the SpongeBob musical; Kyle Jarrow wrote the book, and the songs came from artists including David Bowie, John Legend and Aerosmith.

Hillenburg based the design of Mr. Krabs' restaurant building on what?

A lobster trap gave the restaurant its shape; Hillenburg knew the real thing well, having spent summers after high school as a lobster boiler at a seafood restaurant.

What kept the pilot 'Help Wanted' off SpongeBob's first-season DVD set?

A song's licensing fee: the pilot ends on Tiny Tim's 'Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight', and Nickelodeon would not pay his estate for DVD rights, so it surfaced later as a bonus feature.

'Help Wanted', where SpongeBob is sent on an impossible errand, drew on an experience Hillenburg had where?

In the Boy Scouts: Hillenburg and Derek Drymon came up with the plot over dinner from one of his scouting memories, and Hillenburg and writer Tim Hill then worked it into an outline.

Which old rival goads SpongeBob's grumpy neighbour into forming a band in 'Band Geeks'?

Squilliam Fancyson, a smug old classmate, phones to say his own band cannot make its Bubble Bowl date and sneers that Squidward could fill in; Squidward bluffs that he has a band, then has a week to build one.

The first SpongeBob movie's climactic rock anthem is a rewrite of 'I Wanna Rock' by which band?

Twisted Sister's Dee Snider let the film re-record his anthem with new lyrics, and has been frank about why he agreed: the film paid him handsomely for it.

In 'Sailor Mouth', how many bad words does Mr. Krabs say there are?

Mr. Krabs tells the boys there are 13 bad words you should never use, and Squidward protests that there are only seven; the Parents Television Council criticized the episode.

In SpongeBob's spoof staff-training film, what does the acronym P.O.O.P. stand for?

People Order Our Patties is the lesson the narrator drills into new hires, before the film cuts to the credits at the exact moment it promises to reveal how the patty is made.

Which pair of characters debuted in SpongeBob's first Christmas special, in 2000?

Patchy the Pirate and Potty, his heckling puppet parrot, host 'Christmas Who?', framing the story of how SpongeBob brought Christmas to a town that had never heard of it.

Which comedian voiced the Grandma who takes in SpongeBob's runaway snail in a 2005 special?

Amy Poehler voiced Grandma, the sweet old lady who smothers the runaway with treats until he finds a closet full of empty shells and realises she is fattening him up to eat.

Which rapper voices a ticket taker in Search for SquarePants and recorded the song 'Big Guy' for the film?

Ice Spice's song title echoes the plot: SpongeBob has at last grown tall enough to ride a fearsome roller coaster, and sets out to prove he really is a 'big guy'.

The SpongeBob spin-off Plankton: The Movie skipped Paramount's own streaming service to debut on which rival?

Netflix got the film under a deal announced in 2020, when Nickelodeon's parent company agreed to make SpongeBob character spin-off movies for the streamer; this was the second of them.

In 'The Secret Box', what does Patrick's box actually contain?

An embarrassing photo of SpongeBob at a Christmas party sits in a hidden compartment; SpongeBob, finally allowed a look, sees only a piece of string and goes home laughing at himself.

Which Star Wars actor voices the Flying Dutchman in Search for SquarePants (2025)?

Mark Hamill voices the Flying Dutchman, the ghost pirate who picks SpongeBob as the innocent soul he needs and lures him on a voyage through the Underworld; on television the part is Brian Doyle-Murray's.

Which band's nautical 1997 album The Mollusk was a major inspiration for SpongeBob SquarePants?

Ween so impressed Hillenburg that he contacted the band soon after the album came out, explained his idea for a cartoon, and commissioned a song from them, 'Loop de Loop'.

What vehicle do SpongeBob and Patrick drive toward Shell City in the 2004 movie?

The Patty Wagon, a burger-shaped car kept under the restaurant, does not last the trip: the pair lose it on the road and have to press on towards Shell City without it.

In the 2024 Sandy Cheeks Movie, a lab in which Gulf Coast city scoops SpongeBob's town out of the sea?

Galveston is home to the lab where Sandy herself works; its new boss has the town hauled up so she can clone the residents and sell them as novelty pets.

Which background fish is famous for yelling 'My leg!' whenever disaster strikes?

Fred is a brown grouper from the background crowd; his cry became such a fixture that in 2018 he finally got an episode of his own, titled 'My Leg!'.

SpongeBob's French-accented narrator is a tribute to which real-life ocean explorer and filmmaker?

Jacques Cousteau's distinctive speaking style is the model, so episodes open like a nature documentary. In his rare live-action appearances the narrator wears the red beanie Cousteau was known for.

In SpongeBob SquarePants, Davy Jones' Locker holds the smelly socks of a singer from which 1960s band?

The Monkees singer Davy Jones shared his name with the sailors' legend, so the show made the locker literally his. He later appeared as himself in a 2009 surfing special.

Spongiforma squarepantsii, found in a Malaysian rainforest and named after SpongeBob, is what kind of organism?

A fungus with rubbery orange fruit bodies, it springs back into shape like a sponge once water is squeezed out. Scientists described it as new to science in 2011.

Which British singer voiced Lord Royal Highness, the king of Atlantis, in SpongeBob's 'Atlantis SquarePantis' special?

David Bowie called the role "the Holy Grail of animation gigs" on his blog and said his family was thrilled. An estimated 9.22 million viewers watched the special's premiere.

Mr. Krabs's teenage daughter on SpongeBob SquarePants, drawn with a huge box-shaped head, belongs to which species?

Sperm whale it is: her oversized, almost geometric head nods to the species having the largest brain of any living animal. The idea came from whale watches the show's creator once supervised.

At the end of SpongeBob's 'Graveyard Shift', which classic horror figure is caught flicking the lights on and off?

Nosferatu appears as a photo cut-out of Max Schreck from the 1922 silent film. The gag was planned as a one-off cameo, but the vampire came back as a recurring character from season 11.

In the SpongeBob episode 'Dying for Pie', the pie Squidward gives SpongeBob as a present turns out to be what?

A bomb is what Squidward believes SpongeBob has eaten, so he spends the day making his coworker's last hours special. SpongeBob had saved the pie to share, then trips and sets off a massive explosion.

Which martial art do SpongeBob and Sandy practice so obsessively that Mr. Krabs fires SpongeBob in a season 1 episode?

Karate ambushes between the two friends fill 'Karate Choppers', until SpongeBob starts attacking customers and loses his job. Sandy admits the fault was hers and wins him a second chance.

Which Pirates of the Caribbean star voiced the surf guru Jack Kahuna Laguna in 'SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One'?

Johnny Depp voiced the guru, known as JKL, who teaches SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward to surf home on a giant wave. The 2009 special was part of the show's tenth anniversary celebration.

SpongeBob's boating teacher is a widow because humans captured her husband and turned him into what?

A novelty lamp was her husband's fate, a loss she does not like to talk about. The teacher has since gone on many dates with Mr. Krabs.

Mr. Krabs of SpongeBob SquarePants talks like a pirate after serving in which branch of the armed forces?

The Navy left him with a love of sailing and sea shanties. In 'Shell of a Man' he molts just before a naval reunion, so SpongeBob turns up wearing the empty shell in his place.

In the 2004 SpongeBob movie, which job at Mr. Krabs's second restaurant goes to Squidward instead of SpongeBob?

Manager of the new branch is the promotion SpongeBob expects, but Mr. Krabs calls him a kid, too young and immature for it. He drowns his sorrows in ice cream and wakes with a hangover.

In the 2004 SpongeBob movie, what does Princess Mindy stick on SpongeBob and Patrick to convince them they are now men?

Seaweed mustaches, she claims, are proof that her magic has turned them from kids into men. The confidence carries them across a deadly trench before a hitman shows the whiskers are fake.

The flower shapes floating in SpongeBob's sky, known as sky flowers, were designed to evoke which piece of clothing?

A Hawaiian shirt and its flower print inspired the shapes, which do the job of clouds. The show's creator even wore one to pitch the series, playing island music to set the tone.

The melody of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song was inspired by which traditional sea shanty?

"Blow the Man Down" lent its tune to the opening, composed by Mark Harrison and Blaise Smith. The moving lips in the opening titles belong to the show's own creator.

Which Canadian singer recorded a cover of the SpongeBob theme song for the 2004 movie's soundtrack?

Avril Lavigne's version sits on the soundtrack beside songs by Wilco, Motörhead and the Flaming Lips. The film's director refused a suggested duet with Justin Timberlake.

After its 2011 revolution, which country turned SpongeBob into a street-fashion craze?

Egypt put him on everything from hijabs to boxer shorts, and a Tumblr project called 'SpongeBob on the Nile' set out to document every sighting. Joke presidential campaigns were launched in his name.

SpongeBob's irritating laugh was devised in the tradition of Popeye and which other classic cartoon character?

Woody Woodpecker and Popeye both have laughs that grate, and the casting crew wanted the same for SpongeBob. He was described to his voice actor as childlike, somewhere between an adult and a child.

Which former Spice Girl voiced Queen Amphitrite, mother of a banished sea prince, in SpongeBob's 'The Clash of Triton'?

Victoria Beckham took the part, written especially for her, because her three sons love the show. Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach voiced the queen's banished son.

Which Oscar-winning star of the film Marty voiced the elderly superhero idolized by SpongeBob until his death in 2012?

Ernest Borgnine played the forgetful hero opposite Tim Conway as his sidekick. After both actors died the pair were kept as silent cameos, because the showrunners chose not to recast them.

Which actor, the voice of Sulley in Monsters, Inc., played Santa Claus in the special 'It's a SpongeBob Christmas!'?

John Goodman voiced Santa in the 2012 special, an entire episode animated in stop-motion. Its sets were built from baking soda, glitter, wood chips and breakfast cereal.

Which Happy Days actress, famous as Mrs. Cunningham, is the recurring voice of SpongeBob's Grandma SquarePants?

Marion Ross plays his father's mother, who spoils SpongeBob with cookies, milk, sweaters and bedtime stories. All that fussing can leave her grandson embarrassed.

Which weightlifting character works as the lifeguard at Goo Lagoon, the beach on SpongeBob SquarePants?

Larry the Lobster is a bodybuilder who enjoys nothing more than lifting heavy weights. He is usually voiced by the same actor who plays Plankton.

In SpongeBob's 'The Camping Episode', which beast keeps attacking Squidward once he joins his neighbors' campout?

A sea bear mauls him repeatedly as his unlucky night drags on. He only pitched a tent after telling SpongeBob and Patrick, who were camping in their own yards, to keep quiet.

In 'Wet Painters', SpongeBob and Patrick get permanent paint on which prized possession in Mr. Krabs's living room?

His first dollar is the casualty, and the pair dread a gruesome punishment. Then Mr. Krabs licks it clean: the paint comes off with saliva, and calling it permanent was his idea of a joke.

In a season 3 episode, SpongeBob and Patrick order a giant television just so they can play with what?

The box becomes a playground for their imaginations in 'Idiot Box', while Squidward takes the unwanted TV. Sure the sound effects are real, he sneaks out at night to try the carton himself.

In 'Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm', the Alaskan bull worm that Sandy ties in a knot turns out to be only what?

Its tongue is all she has beaten, as SpongeBob points out just before the enormous creature gives chase. Sandy went hunting it because it had eaten her tail.

Which season 1 SpongeBob short, about the havoc caused by one tiny seashell, notably contains no dialogue at all?

"Reef Blower" plays out wordlessly: Squidward tosses a shell into SpongeBob's yard, and SpongeBob answers with a high-powered electric machine that wrecks his neighbor's quiet day.

In 'Sandy's Rocket', where do SpongeBob and Patrick think they have landed when they capture their neighbors as aliens?

The Moon is where they believe they are, though the rocket has only crash-landed back home. They net everyone in town, Sandy included, before SpongeBob decides Patrick is an alien too.

In Sponge Out of Water, time-travelers SpongeBob and Plankton meet Bubbles, a galactic guardian who is what animal?

A dolphin with magical powers, Bubbles oversees the galaxy until SpongeBob's visit gets him fired when Jupiter and Saturn collide. Glad to be rid of the job, he later lets the heroes breathe on land.

In the SpongeBob SquarePants Broadway musical, which looming natural disaster sends the whole town into a panic?

A volcanic eruption from nearby Mount Humongous is forecast, so SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy set out to climb the mountain. They mean to drop in Sandy's bubble gadget, the Eruption Interrupter.

Which actor, later Boq in the Wicked films, originated the role of SpongeBob in the 2016 stage musical?

Ethan Slater won a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination for the part. He kept the role when the show transferred to Broadway's Palace Theatre for its 2017 opening.

Before its official premiere, SpongeBob SquarePants first aired as a sneak peek right after which televised ceremony?

The Kids' Choice Awards, Nickelodeon's own ceremony, gave the pilot its first audience weeks before the official launch. The series went on to win a record number of the awards itself.

In 'What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?', an amnesiac SpongeBob frees New Kelp City from a gang and wins which job?

Mayor is his reward for trapping the Bubble Poppin' Boys in a bubble that floats them out of the city forever. A Fabergé egg landing on his head later restores his memory.

In 'The Sponge Who Could Fly', which household appliance stuffed in SpongeBob's pants finally lets him fly?

A hair dryer inflates his pants while he takes an insulting phone call after a shower, and he floats off to become a local hero. Endless favors for the neighbors soon leave him no time to fly with the jellyfish.

In SpongeBob's 'Patty Hype', which gimmick turns the Krabby Patties SpongeBob sells from his own stand into a hit?

Bright colors made his Pretty Patties such a success that Mr. Krabs swapped the restaurant for the stand. Then customers noticed the side effects, and an angry mob chased the new owner.

In 'MuscleBob BuffPants', what does SpongeBob order to fake a bodybuilder's physique and impress his friends?

Inflatable arms fool everyone until Sandy enters them both in an anchor-throwing contest. Unable to lift his anchor, SpongeBob pumps the fakes up until they explode.

In Sponge on the Run, King Poseidon wants SpongeBob's pet snail so that its slime can do what?

To preserve his looks, the selfish ruler has just used up the slime of his latest snail. Plankton arranges the kidnapping simply to get SpongeBob out of his way.

Which rapper plays a character called The Gambler in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run?

Snoop Dogg plays The Gambler and also features on the film's soundtrack. He broke the news of his casting himself as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

In 'Life of Crime', SpongeBob and Patrick go on the run after borrowing and accidentally popping what?

A balloon is all they took, and it was National Free Balloon Day anyway. The police play along with their confession and jokingly sentence the pair to one second in jail.

In a season 3 episode, which wild creature does SpongeBob adopt, name Mystery and hide in the restaurant kitchen?

A seahorse he finds while planting spring flowers becomes his pet in 'My Pretty Seahorse'. After he sadly sets her free, it turns out Mystery has been eating out of the restaurant's safe.

In a season 3 episode, a late-night horror film convinces SpongeBob that his boss Mr. Krabs has secretly become what?

A robot uprising is the plot of the film he stays up to watch in 'Krab Borg', and by morning he sees machines everywhere. He and Squidward tie Mr. Krabs up, interrogate him and destroy his appliances.

In 'Something Smells', which homemade breakfast leaves SpongeBob with breath so foul that the whole town avoids him?

An onion sundae, improvised from rancid ingredients when the ice cream ran out, is to blame. Patrick tells him people flee because he is ugly, then eats some himself and decides ugliness is catching.

In SpongeBob's 'Dunces and Dragons', Squidward's ancestor Squidly holds which job at King Krabs's court?

Jester Squidly shares a dungeon with SpongeBob and Patrick after a jousting accident hurls them into the 11th century. All three are nearly executed for insulting the king with a song.

SpongeBob's creator enrolled in 1989 at which Santa Clarita school to pursue a career in animation?

CalArts is where he made the student films that got him hired by Nickelodeon. He had once planned a master's degree in art, then quit his job to become an animator instead.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge roller coaster stands inside which giant retail complex?

Mall of America's Nickelodeon-themed area is home to the euro-fighter coaster. Other SpongeBob attractions stand at Movie Park Germany and Blackpool's Pleasure Beach.

Which heavy metal band made a musical guest appearance in SpongeBob's extreme-sports episode 'Pre-Hibernation Week'?

Pantera gave a special musical performance as Sandy drags SpongeBob through extreme sports before her long sleep. Worn out, he goes into hiding and she tears the town apart looking for him.

Which Georgia city hosted the live-action filming for The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water?

Savannah and nearby Tybee Island stood in for the surface world in a 2013 shoot announced as lasting 40 days. The city's film office expected the production to add $8 million to the local economy.

Which band behind 'Blister in the Sun' covered the SpongeBob theme for promos marking the show's move to prime time?

Violent Femmes, a folk punk band from Milwaukee, recorded the cover as a Nickelodeon promotion. Their 1983 debut album, home to most of their best-known songs, eventually went platinum.

In the 2004 SpongeBob movie, Plankton frames Mr. Krabs and steals the secret formula using a scheme with which name?

Plan Z ends with him selling Krabby Patties that come with free helmets, which brainwash customers into doing his bidding. He also hires a hitman named Dennis to stop the heroes getting home.