Movies - TV
The Same Real-Life Nuclear Test Gave Us Both Godzilla & SpongeBob
By BJ COLANGELO
At the start of every episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants," viewers see a small island in the middle of the sea before shifting into the animated world of Bikini Bottom.
The island is Bikini Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands that was turned into a nuclear weapons test site. The area is also the birthplace of another pop culture icon: Godzilla.
While his origins have changed many times over the years, Godzilla from Ishiro Honda's 1954 "Gojira" was the direct result of the American nuclear bomb test in the Bikini Atoll.
"SpongeBob" also makes a reference to the nuclear weapons tests in the "Dying for Pie" episode by using live-action footage of the Baker bomb tests at Bikini Atoll.
In the Season 13 episode "Delivery to Monster Island," SpongeBob and Plankton end up on a place called Monster Island, where the head of Shin Godzilla makes a cameo.
The episode finally confirms that Godzilla and SpongeBob SquarePants are underwater neighbors due to the testing of American nuclear weapons.