History

The history of Bikini Bottom can be traced back to the Permian period. During a time-travel incident, Squidward accidentally invents the sport of jellyfishing. Years later, SpongeGar, Patar, and Squog, ancestors of SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward, discover fire.

A scene from "Dunces and Dragons" (2006) that depicts Bikini Bottom in the Middle Ages, as a village known as Bikini Bottomshire

In the Medieval Era, Bikini Bottomshire is under the rule of King Krabs, ancestor of Mr. Krabs, and is under attack by the evil wizard, Planktonomor, ancestor of Plankton. SpongeBob and Patrick are transported to this time after a jousting accident, which fulfills a prophecy. Princess Pearl, the daughter of King Krabs, is kidnapped by Planktonomor's fire-breathing jellyfish(which looks and acts very much like a dragon), and taken hostage at Planktonomor's tower. Fulfilling the prophecy, SpongeBob and Patrick save Princess Pearl and defeat Planktonomor. Later, during a parade celebrating SpongeBob and Patrick's heroic deeds, King Krabs invents the Krabby Patty, which would be passed down through the Krabs family, the formula being kept secret.

Sometime in the late 19th century in the Old West, one of Plankton's ancestors, Dead-Eye Plankton, takes over Bikini Gulch and renames it Dead-Eye Gulch. A big, western-style showdown happens between Dead-Eye Plankton, and SpongeBob's ancestor, SpongeBuck SquarePants.

On November 30, 1942, Eugene Krabs was born, along with the birth-friend, Sheldon Plankton. In his childhood, he is discovered as a financial genius. Soon, he went to Poseidon Elementary. The two opened up a restaurant but an argument began between them and they became bitter rivals. After his service in the navy, Mr. Krabs fell into a deep depression, which seemed endless; however, a bankrupt retirement home, gave him hope. Mr. Krabs decided to buy the building and rename it, marking the establishment of the Krusty Krab. The financial success of the Krusty Krab took off and became a premiere eating establishment in Bikini Bottom.

In the modern era, Bikini Bottom has witnessed various occurrences of destruction. In "Dying for Pie", a bomb pie falls on Squidward's face, causing a nuclear explosion. In "Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm", an Alaskan Bull Worm strikes Bikini Bottom, making Sandy hunt it down. Bikini Bottom is moved away, but the worm crushes it. In "Wormy", while Sandy is out of town, SpongeBob and Patrick release a butterfly out of fear. They proceed to cause mass hysteria that leads to the city's destruction. Global warming also takes effect in the short "The Endless Summer." Another atomic explosion occurs in "The Krusty Plate" when SpongeBob decides to clean with his "nuclear cleaning gun" on maximum power. It is revealed in the episode, WhoBob WhatPants? that Bikini Bottom's population is 538.

Entertainment

In Bikini Bottom, entertainment contributes to the social interaction within the city. The Krusty Krab houses shows such as The Annual Squidward Tentacles Talent Show, a weekly talent show, and The Komedy Krab, a comedy show. The city has a popular cinema, The Reef, but it is destroyed in the episode "Something Smells", however it reappears in later episodes. Bikini Bottom also has many forms of media, such as news, magazines, radio, and television that contribute to Bikini Bottom's wide spread of news and entertainment. The city paper is called the Bikini Times. It features the regular news, as well as daily comics. There is another newspaper that is called the Bikini Bottom Inquirer, a parody of The National Inquirer. There also are boy bands and rock bands; the first being Boys Who Cry, a parody of The Cure's single "Boys Don't Cry"; Stingray 5000, a possible parody of Powerman 5000, who had released a record entitled "You Rock My Clams"; and Ned and the Needlefish.

Krusty Krab

The Krusty Krab, owned by Eugene H. Krabs, is the most popular restaurant in Bikini Bottom. It has two main employees: SpongeBob SquarePants, the fry cook, and Squidward Tentacles, the cashier. The Krusty Krab is one of the most famous elements in the show, the first episode is based around SpongeBob getting the job. SpongeBob convinces Eugene H. Krabs and Squidward Tentacles that he can work there. Both employees have difficulties with working together: Squidward hates SpongeBob, and SpongeBob in turn exacerbates the situation by remaining completely naive toward Squidward's spiteful attitude. Originally there was a frycook named Jim who left on account of Mr. Krab's small salary. Sheldon J. Plankton, the owner of the Krusty Krab's rival restaurant, The Chum Bucket, is always trying to find out the mystery ingredients for the Krabby patty formula. The secret formula is never actually revealed, though in one episode the paper with the written formula is unraveled, revealing censored gibberish.

Like many buildings in the show, the Krusty Krab does not have a specific floor plan. In most episodes, however, the restaurant includes the main dining room with doors leading to Mr. Krabs' office, the kitchen, and a restroom. The building's exterior is based on a New England lobster trap. In the front, the Krusty Krab has a parking area, even though boats are usually not seen in it. In the back of the Krusty Kraba dumpster is seen in most episodes. The Krusty Krab has regular hours from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm, but is closed on Sunday.

Setting

SpongeBob and his friends live in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. Bikini Bottom is like a regular city with a downtown, suburbs, coastal areas, its own airport, bus system, and fair park. Stephen Hillenburg said once that Bikini Bottom was loosely based on Seattle, Washington.^[1] An example of this statement is in the episode "Pre-Hibernation Week". Sandy and SpongeBob were fighting on a tall structure called the Sea Needle, referring to the Space Needle, a tall structure in Seattle. Hillenburg has said that he wants to leave the location of Bikini Bottom to the imagination, claiming that the Baywatch scene from the movie was just a reference to his favorite show of all time.

Bikini Bottom is a city that is the main setting of the series, located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean,^[2] It is where the series' main characters live and where most of the episodes take place. The city consists of various businesses, including restaurants, stores, and manufacturers. The city has a stable economy, balanced education and health systems, a structured government, and a firm law enforcement system. There are even stadiums, amusement parks, and other recreational facilities.

Bikini Bottom's geography is shown as consisting of mountains, dense forests, lakes, lagoons, caves, grasslands, reefs, rivers, and barren desert wastelands.

The city is divided by its main road, Conch Street, which runs from downtown and past the homes of SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick, through the Krusty Krab, the Chum Bucket and the Reef Theatre cinema. The road intersects with Barnacle Road and Coral Avenue. Anchor Way is not far off from Conch Street. Conch Street runs north-south as revealed in the SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom video game. Downtown Bikini Bottom is located in the northernmost point of the city, while SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick's House are on the southern part of the road. Goo Lagoon is located west of the road, while Jellyfish Fields is to the east. Other establishments are located more southerly, including Sandy's house, Shady Shoals retirement home, the Krusty Krab, the Chum Bucket, and the Movie Theater. The Kelp Forest is located more southerly.

In the center of Bikini Bottom, the citizens work and live in large, gray buildings made of metal. There are some other forms of buildings, mostly aquatic-themed as seen above. Further out from the town citizens need to use whatever is available and easy to live in, such as Patrick's rock, SpongeBob hollowed-out pineapple, and the Easter Island Head Squidward lives in.

Surrounding towns include Rock Bottom, New Kelp City, Ukulele Bottom, Failiuretown, Quittersville, Loserburg, and Base 8.

Inhabitants

Bikini Bottom's populace, like that of the rest of the series, consists of various anthropomorphic fish, whales, crabs, sponges, squid, octopi, starfish, anchovies, lobsters, sharks, and most other forms of sea life, including sea monsters. Some forms of sea life, like jellyfish, seahorses, snails, manatees, and worms aren't anthropomorphic, and are treated like pets or wild animals. For example, clams represent bats and birds, snails represent cats, and worms represent dogs. The first known land creature to live in Bikini Bottom was the Dark Knight, an ancestor of Sandy Cheeks, before the 12th century. Sandy and Craig Mammalton are the only land creatures seen living in modern Bikini Bottom. Land creatures like humans, bugs and birds are rarely seen. Inhabitants of Bikini Bottom are called "Bikini Bottomites".

SpongeBob SquarePants is a sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea, while his squid neighbor, Squidward Tentacles, lives in a moai. SpongeBob's other neighbor and best friend is a pink starfish named Patrick Star, who lives under a rock. SpongeBob and Patrick live on either side of Squidward Tentacles, much to Squidward's dismay.

SpongeBob's house-pet is a snail named Gary, who meows like a cat. Although Gary only speaks in a few episodes, the characters have shown an ability to understand him. In addition to this, underwater worms bark exactly like dogs, and are kept on chains. Jellyfish are the equivalent of bees; buzzing, "stinging" with poison, and producing delicious "jelly", mocking the name "jellyfish", while still referring to a bee's honey. Clams act as birds, and fish act as the citizens of the community but generally are not important characters.

Although the citizens of Bikini Bottom live underwater, they mostly do not float, and gravity usually applies. A flurry of bubbles accompanies actions in many of the episodes to remind the viewer that the setting is underwater. However, the laws of physics in Bikini Bottom change somewhat from time to time, but mostly the water acts like air. For instance, characters can pour a glass of liquid, just as we do above the sea. Bikini Bottom has functional baths, pools, and toilets, and there are lakes and streams. In Battle for Bikini Bottom and a regular beach setting, Goo Lagoon, underwater liquid is referred to as goo. Once, during an episode set in a wilderness area, Patrick questions how a camp fire is possible on the lagoon bottom. As soon as the question is asked, the fire is immediately extinguished with a sizzle; however, this is only used for comedic effect, as fire is often used and seen.

SpongeBob works as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab, a fast-food restaurant, with Squidward as the cashier. The Krusty Krab is owned by Mr. Krabs, a greedy, penny-pinching crab and ex-Navy officer. Sheldon Plankton is Mr. Krabs's arch enemy who owns a low-rank fast-food restaurant called the Chum Bucket across the street from the Krusty Krab. The Chum Bucket has almost never had a customer, and Plankton spends most of his time plotting to steal the recipe for Mr. Krabs's popular Krabby Patty burgers. Only in the movie does he succeed; the formula is never actually revealed to the audience. This fact is mocked in the Krusty Krab Training Video episode, where the episode cuts off before the video reveals the recipe. Plankton's computer wife, Karen, alternately helps him in his schemes or bickers with him.

Sandy Cheeks is another friend of SpongeBob. She is a squirrel that lives in an underwater dome in Bikini Bottom. She was sent there to do research for her chimpanzee bosses. Sandy is from Texas, and speaks with a Texan accent. Sandy is an expert at karate. When not inside her tree-dome, she wears an astronaut-like suit because she cannot breathe in water. Sandy hibernates once a year.

Instead of cars, the residents of Bikini Bottom drive boats, known as "boatmobiles". SpongeBob is still in boating school after failing the driving test 58 times as it is revealed in one of the episodes.

SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series and media franchise. It is currently Nickelodeon's, and is among Nicktoons Network's most-watched shows. In 2007, TIME magazine named it one of the greatest television shows of all time. Although its original network is Nickelodeon, SpongeBob is now broadcast around the world. It was created by artist, animator and former marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, and is produced through his production company, United Plankton Pictures, Inc. It is the second longest-running Nicktoon, next to the Rugrats.

The series is set in the Pacific Ocean, in the fictional city of Bikini Bottom and on the surrounding lagoon floor. The pilot episode first aired in the United States on Nickelodeon after the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999. The "official" series premiere followed on July 17, 1999, with the second episode, "Bubblestand/Ripped Pants."

The series star is a character who is a sea sponge, but in shape and color his body more closely resembles a kitchen sponge.