20 best SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, memes and other moments

We couldn’t start this list with a better moment than May 1, 1999, when “SpongeBob SquarePants” debuted on Nickelodeon after that year’s "Kids’ Choice Awards." The premiere was actually three 11-minute episodes, which included “Help Wanted” followed by “Reef Blower” and “Tea at the Treedome.” The latter two were definitely the better segments, but “Help Wanted” was where it all started.

After the premiere, the world wasn’t gifted a new “SpongeBob” episode until July 17, but anyone who saw the pilot already knew the show would be a big hit. A sure sign of that? The number of guest stars who lent their voices. This began in the sixth episode with Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway, who portrayed Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, respectively, in an installment aptly titled “Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.” The duo would reprise their roles a dozen times, along with a star-studded list of nearly 100 other celebrities.

“SpongeBob” doesn’t include a lot of musical moments (except for background music, of course), but that doesn’t mean the show lacks some musical chops. One of the first instances of this was in the Season 1, Episode 10b installment titled “F.U.N.” In it, SpongeBob feels bad for and befriends the antagonist Plankton, who — in his never-ending effort to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula — pretends to like SpongeBob too. As part of their friendship, SpongeBob sings a song that explains to his new friend how to have fun and inadvertently creates one of the first truly memorable moments in the series, including the silly lyrics: “F is for friends who do stuff together / U is for you and me / N is for anywhere and anytime at all, down here in the deep blue sea!” 

In addition to celebrities providing character voices, some also helped with the music. And if you had any doubt that “SpongeBob SquarePants” was aimed at adults as well as kids, the music selections will quell that question. In the Season 2 episode “Your Shoe’s Untied,” the musical guests were alt-rockers Ween, who frequently pen lyrics that are less than appropriate for little ones, as well as metal legends Pantera, who provided some tunes for the episode “Prehibernation Week.”

“SpongeBob” doesn’t need an elaborate storyline to make an entertaining episode, as evidenced by Season 2's “Procrastination.” In this installment, SpongeBob has to write an 800-word essay on what not to do at a stoplight, but instead of focusing on his work, he finds an endless number of ways to stall and waste time. Not only has this since become a classic episode, but also screenshots of SpongeBob sitting at his desk have inspired numerous memes.

When you think about it, “Dying for Pie” is a pretty dark premise for an episode, but it ends with a hilarious bang...literally! In the installment, Squidward gives SpongeBob a pie with a bomb inside it, and after mistakenly believing SpongeBob ate it, Squidward devotes his time to making sure his foe has a memorable last day alive. Near the end, a confused SpongeBob reveals that he never actually ate the pie and was actually saving it for him and Squid to split. SpongeBob then trips, the pie crashes into Squidward’s face with a hilarious splat, followed by footage of a mushroom cloud exploding out of the ocean. Just before the credits roll, Squid can be heard emitting a pained “ouch.”

One of our all-time favorite episodes is Season 2’s “The Secret Box,” which tests the limits of SpongeBob and Patrick’s friendship. Highlights include the duo’s Best Friends Forever Club ring, SpongeBob’s arms getting comically severed from his torso, Patrick attempting to ward off a burglar with a pillow and a twist at the end that reveals the true contents of the secret box: an embarrassing snapshot of SpongeBob at last year’s Christmas Party.

The premise of “Shanghaied” involves SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward hanging with the Flying Dutchman, but we actually included this episode for just one scene. When the Dutchman asks his new crew to give a celebratory howl, SpongeBob simply laughs, followed by Patrick letting out a random call of “Leedle leedle leedle lee.” It makes no sense whatsoever, but the scene has since become a viral hit, both in its original form and as a version that has been remixed countless times.

Season 3’s “Chocolate with Nuts” is an excellent example of the quotability and witty writing found in “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Gems from this one include the scene where a cranky old woman is conned into believing the chocolate for sale can make her live forever (and her daughter who clearly doesn’t want that to occur), a man who casually claims his wife is trying to grow a beard and a random character who is seemingly enraged at the very mention of chocolate. Like many other episodes, this one has also spawned several memes.

“Sailor Mouth” perfectly walks the line between being an episode geared toward kids and one aimed at adults. On one hand, it teaches kids that swearing is wrong, yet sometimes unavoidable. On the other, it makes grown-ups wonder what exactly the bad word is that SpongeBob and Patrick say, as well as the contents of the stream of obscenities Mr. Krabs unleashes at the story’s end. 

When painting the inside of Mr. Krabs’ house in Season 3’s “Wet Painters,” SpongeBob and Patrick accidentally get an extremely small drop of paint on the framed first dollar Krabs ever earned and spend the rest of the episode trying to fix it. When nothing works, SpongeBob suggests replacing the dollar with one in Patrick’s wallet, but Patrick instead puts it into a vending machine. The machine spits it out several times, and despite SpongeBob’s hilarious pleas to grab it, Pat eventually succeeds. 

It’s no secret that SpongeBob and Patrick aren’t exactly macho men, and “No Weenies Allowed” pokes fun at this fact. When attempting to get into the toughest club in Bikini Bottom, the bouncer instead suggests SpongeBob go somewhere else: either Weenie Hut Jr. or Super Weenie Hut Jr. In response, SpongeBob tries to prove his toughness by telling a story about when he once stubbed his toe and cried for only 20 minutes, which has since become a meme. He is eventually admitted to the establishment but immediately slips on an ice cube and ends up in the hospital. After referring to his injury as a “boo-boo,” the doctor hilariously suggests he check himself into Weenie Hut General Hospital instead.

“Missing Identity” is entertaining as an overall episode, but we’re including it here strictly for one scene. After SpongeBob discovers his Krusty Krab name tag is missing, he worries that someone else is using it. The scene then cuts to SpongeBob’s imagination, in which a masked robber wearing the name tag bursts into a bank. “This is a bank robbery!” he says, before yelling “Attica!” in an ode to the 1975 crime classic “Dog Day Afternoon.” No kid would ever get this reference, which makes it even funnier to adults. (We also really enjoyed SpongeBob’s “most important meal of the day” breakfast song for Gary.)

After five years on TV, the franchise reached a major milestone when it released “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” on Nov. 19, 2004. Against a budget of $30 million, the film grossed $140.2 million, which ranks it sixth all time for animated TV adaptations. “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” was also received surprisingly well by critics and holds a 69 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert even gave it three out of four stars!

“The first float” sort of sounds like it should be an episode title, but what we’re actually referring to is the debut of the SpongeBob SquarePants float at the 2004 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Despite getting repeatedly stuck on lampposts a comical number of times over the years, SpongeBob has missed only one parade since his debut. 

SpongeBob has been praised by fans, critics and celebrities alike, but the biggest endorsement might be from a future president. In 2007, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama named SpongeBob as his favorite TV character and said he watches the show with his daughters. A year later, Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States of America. Coincidence? Probably.

The most famous SpongeBob meme has to be the one where a rainbow is displayed between his two outstretched hands. It originated from the episode titled “The Idiot Box,” when SpongeBob explains to Squidward that a cardboard box can be fun if one uses his or her imagination. However, internet users have substituted and superimposed a countless number of words and phrases onto the screenshot, often in a sarcastic, cynical or insulting manner.

As counterintuitive as it sounds, one of our favorite parts of this happy-go-lucky show are the moments when Patrick is angry. This includes Season 2's “Patty Hype” when he’s upset he can’t see his forehead, in “Big Pink Loser” when he’s working at the Krusty Krab and keeps yelling “No, this is Patrick!” when people call asking if they’ve reached the restaurant and in “Survival of the Idiots” when SpongeBob calls him a pinhead during a role-playing sequence. All three of these scenes have since become viral hits.

Want an obvious sign that “SpongeBob SquarePants” truly made it as a pop culture phenomenon? In 2011, a species of fungus was discovered in Malaysia by a trio of scientists who named it Spongiforma squarepantsii in honor of the famous character and his eponymous TV series. Not only did the shape of the fungus remind the scientists of Mr. SquarePants, but also the surface, when viewed with scanning electron microscopy, resembles a “seafloor covered with tube sponges, reminiscent of the fictitious home of SpongeBob,” they reported.

When someone wants to mock another person for doing or saying something silly or unintelligent, they often use a meme of SpongeBob acting goofy and contorting himself in an odd fashion. Although most memes come from early episodes, this one actually originates from the season nine episode “Little Yellow Book,” which aired on March 2, 2013.