Nothing ignites discussion quite like a mystery, and SpongeBob SquarePants has long held the secret to the ingredients of the Krusty Krab’s iconic Krabby Patty.
The series first aired in 1999 and has become a staple of pop culture, with kids who grew up on it now able to vote and make meaningful decisions for humanity. Isn’t the passage of time frightening? Now, those older and wiser kids think they can figure out this long-running mystery.
Redditor /u/MyWordIsNowLaw believes they’ve worked out the secret formula to the much-loved SpongeBob SquarePants, and the surrealist children’s comedy may have hidden the ultimate punchline for the burger: there is actually no secret formula at all. Cue the M. Night Shyamalan Robot Chicken clip saying “what a twist”.
There’s been plenty of discussion online in the past speculating that it could be anything from mayonnaise to seaweed to dead fish. SpongeBob’s lasting legacy as a cartoon that gave children access to Monty Python-esque absurdism makes it feel possible that any guess is reasonable.
SpongeBob as a franchise, meanwhile, is still expanding. There’s been two recent spin-offs that have made their way onto Paramount Plus, with Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years and The Patrick Star Show releasing in 2021. Theatrically, the sponge isn’t finished yet, although a previously planned Squidward movie, which would’ve focused on music, was scrapped by Netflix. We missed out on Whiplash but with Squidward.
SpongeBob SquarePants and its spin-offs can be streamed on Paramount Plus, but whether or not this fan theory rings true remains unconfirmed.