Who lived in a nuclear bomb under the sea?

The Origins of SpongeBob SquarePants

Yours and my favorite childhood TV show about an upbeat sponge, SpongeBob Squarepants, is based on a real place and a grim event in history.

The show's setting, Bikini Bottom, lies beneath a real location - Bikini Atoll, which is the anglicized spelling of “Pikinni” in its original Marshallese name. Between 1946 and 1958, this peaceful Pacific paradise became ground zero for American nuclear testing. The US detonated 67 nuclear bombs on the island and in its waters over this time period. The most powerful, nicknamed Castle Bravo, created an explosion equal to 1,000 Hiroshima bombs. It is still the largest nuclear test in U.S. history.

In today’s Substack we’ll explore the connections between this beloved cartoon and dark chapter in US history.