Five Fun Facts About Spongebob SquarePants (And He’s Coming to the City!)

It’s almost eighteen years to this day that the longtime animated show SpongeBob SquarePants has made its debut on Nickolodeon! So long, in fact, that it currently holds the title for the longest running Nicktoon that’s still running with 10 seasons and more than 200 episodes under its belt.

If you’re square enough, then you must know all about everybody’s favorite sea-dwelling sponge and his mateys! Of course, we know Spongebob works at the Krusty Krab as a fry cook, and that he lives in a pineapple under the sea, and that he has a lot of adventures with his best friend Patrick Star, but here’s a few more fun things we can add to what we know of the most famous resident of Bikini Bottom.

SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg is a marine biologist in real life, who also taught science in school and once worked as a fry cook at a seafood restaurant
His original name was SpongeBoy, but that was already taken by a mop
A sponge-like fungi discovered in 2011 was named after SpongeBob, and it is called spongiforma squarepantsii
As childish and cute as he is, SpongeBob’s identification card says his birthday is on July 14, 1989, making him a full-fledged adult about to turn 28! Now we all know why he lives alone!
SpongeBob’s laugh is meant to make us think of the ocean: it is based on the distinctive call of a dolphin, with just a touch of a seagull’s shriek

So famous is SpongeBob SquarePants that even celebrities like Johnny Depp, Victoria Beckham and Amy Poehler have done voiceovers of some characters in the show.

Bonus Fact! SM is reeling in our loveable yellow spongey friend from Bikini Bottom… SpongeBob SquarePants and his BFF Patrick Star is visiting an SM Supermall near you! Yes, that’s right, Patrick Star, too! And because he’s joining SpongeBob at the meet-and-greet, here are a few fun facts about him, too: he weighs only 2 ounces, lives under a rock, enjoys annoying their other friend Squidward, and has a big sister named Sam.

Catch SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star this weekend at SM City Bacolod on April 29 at 5PM, and SM City Iloilo on April 30 at 3:30PM!