A lot has been said about Nickelodeon in 1999. The series has been a huge hit, becoming the fifth-longest-running American animated series and expanding to other media, such as video games and comic books.
SpongeBob SquarePants follows the adventures of the title character (a rectangular, yellow sea sponge) and his friends in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Throughout the years, viewers have met SpongeBob’s best friends Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks, his sarcastic neighbor Squidward, and his boss Mr. Krabs, as well as a couple of enemies such as Plankton and Flats the Flounder. All these characters have their own quirks and special talents, which a theory attributes to Bikini Bottom being a nuclear test site.
This theory originated on Bikini Bottom.
This theory is not that far from the truth, as it has been confirmed that Bikini Bottom is located beneath Bikini Atoll, so that part of the story is true. One of the bombs from the tests was detonated underwater, and the explosion was photographed - the series replicates this shape on almost every explosion that happens on the show. Of all SpongeBob SquarePants theories out there (and cartoon theories in general) this is probably the one that makes most sense and has more substantial proofs to it.
Whether SpongeBob SquarePants was actually intended to show the consequences of nuclear testing underwater or Bikini Atoll was just inspiration for the town’s name and location, it’s something that only Hillenburg and company would know. Still, there are many details that fit with Bikini Atoll’s history that instead of making the show creepy (like other theories try to) actually make it more interesting.