Spongebob and Nuclear Testing

Today (29th August) is the International Day against Nuclear Tests, and at Crab Museum we are proud to stand against nuclear weapons in all their forms - but what has this got to do with Spongebob?

Bikini Bottom is home to one of the world’s greatest cartoon characters, Spongebob Squarepants. It is also home to Mr Krabs, a miserly business owner of almost equal fame.

However the fictional location of Bikini Bottom is based on a very real place, the seabed surrounding Bikini Atoll, and site of American nuclear weapons testing.

Between 1946 and 1958, the U.S. government detonated 67 nuclear weapons on these islands. Some of these weapons were detonated underwater, which perhaps explains the weirdness of Bikini Bottom’s residents. The fact that they can talk is a dead giveaway.

Sandy Cheeks, the Texan Chipmunk is a good example of the show’s nods to the testing at Bikini Atoll. Chipmunks were carried onboard naval vessels to see the effects of radiation and blast.

The original human population of these islands have not been able to return as radiation levels are far too high and the ground is irreversibly contaminated. Their descendants have settled on other islands or in the United States and they have never been able to return to their homeland.

Surprisingly a 2017 study by Steve Palumbi found that marine life in the nuclear crater is abundant. It has been suggested that this is because the original populations have all died off, and the marine life is able to move in and out of the contaminated zone. On the face of it these animals appear to be healthy however scientists have noted potential mutations with the Nurse Shark, which usually sports two dorsal fins, being seen with only one.

Since nuclear weapons testing began on 16 July 1945 nearly 2,000 have taken place around the world. They have been conducted on land, underground, at sea and on humans as well as countless other animals. Nuclear testing is the prime example of political, technological power being violently flaunted at the expense of the planet.

The only good thing to come of them is Spongebob, so join us today to say no to nuclear testing, rearming, recommissioning and posturing.