We may never know exactly why SpongeBob SquarePants lives in a pineapple under the sea, and continue to debate whether he is a dish sponge, but fans of the porous yellow creature are definitely mourning the loss of his creator Stephen Hillenburg.
Hillenburg died on Tuesday after battling with ALS. In his memory, fans quickly paid tribute to the late cartoonist on social media, sharing their favorite episodes along the way.
For millennials especially, the nonsensical world of SpongeBob SquarePants continues to define a generation through countless hilarious and timeless memes.
The very first episode of SpongeBob aired on May 1, 1999, introducing its audience to a sponge living in the city of Bikini Bottom who gets a job at a local burger joint run by a crab (Mr. Krabs obviously). The humor of the show attracted both children and adults to the adventures of SpongeBob with his friends Sandy (a spunky squirrel from Texas) and Patrick (a dumb starfish), and his neighbor/coworker Squidward (a grumpy, artistically frustrated squid).
There are nearly 250 episodes of SpongeBob to date. In those hundreds of episodes, there are classics that include the iconic hash slinging slasher, doodlebob, Davy Jones, SpongeBob’s snail Gary, and many others. Take a walk down memory lane below.
