One of the most famous kids’ programmes on air is likely based on real-life nuclear testing that led to the death of a young boy.
That show is, of course, SpongeBob SquarePants. The classic Nickelodeon cartoon, set in the underwater town of Bikini Bottom, follows the optimistic sponge and his best pals – an octopus, a starfish and a squirrel – on their zany adventures. But in real life, there’s a real tragedy behind the fun show.
Bikini Bottom is likely based on Bikini Atoll, which tested the detonation of 24 nuclear weapons by the United States between 1946 and 1958. Some of these blasts took place underwater – with theories that the anthropomorphic sea creatures are actually deformed, irradiated fish.
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The residents of Bikini Atoll were forcibly evacuated from the site, with 167 people temporarily rehomed. Their church and community house were disassembled and the Micronesian inhabitants moved to the nearby Rongerik Atoll – which lacked food and water supplies.
(Image: Getty Images)
In 1987, after the testing was complete, some residents moved back – but with disastrous results. In the 1970s, it was discovered that the food and water supplies were so radioactive they were causing miscarriages, stillbirths and genetic abnormalities in children born after the relocation.
Tragically, a boy who was only 11 years old died in 1971 from cancer, related to radiation exposure from Bikini Atoll. It also had a severe effect on the Japanese fishing boat Daigo Fukuryu Maru – or Lucky Dragon in English – which was just 60 miles away from one of the nuclear bombs when it exploded.
(Image: Nickelodeon)
Chief radio operator Aikichi Kuboyama died seven months after the blast – nicknamed Castle Bravo – from acute organ malfunction, and a further 15 crew members perished from cancer or other related causes.
High levels of contamination still remain at the test site today, leaving many descendants and former inhabitants of Bikini too afraid to return.
Since SpongeBob premiered back in 1999, fans of the show have been obsessed with the theory that Bikini Bottom is based on the real-life thermonuclear experiments. Creator Stephen Hillenburg was a marine biologist before pursuing a career in animation – which lent credibility to the idea of the show being based on real life.
(Image: Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
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There’s more evidence than just the name, too. One image used in the episode Dying for Pie used the same mushroom cloud image of a nuclear blast, and a script allegedly exists somewhere which makes reference to Bikini Atoll.
Fans also speculated that the clothing worn by the characters – including SpongeBob’s iconic trousers and shirt get-up – are remarkably like what would have been worn in the 40s and 50s, around the time of the Operation Crossroads tests.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
