The Chimpanzee beneficiaries of Sandy’s undersea treedome are paying a visit to see what progress she has made with her inventions. But Sandy doesn’t think any of her work will satisfy the chimps, and if they don’t like what she’s invented Sandy could lose her funding forcing her to leave Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob and Patrick decide to help their distraught friend by taking over her work and finishing her inventions. At first, Patrick has ideas of things that have already been invented, such as a pencil and a mirror (which ironically is actually a parallel universe). After hours of hard work, SpongeBob and Patrick invent a back scratching, hair-combing, nose-picking ukelele-tuner. When the Chimps arrive, Lord Reginald is the first to test it (though never wanted to, as Patrick forced him). Shockingly, the invention works, but when tuning the ukelele, the machine malfuctions, hits Reginald with the Ukelele, slaps him, then starts attacking him with all sorts of weapons. Meanwhile, Sandy hears the screaming of Reginald, and arrives just as the machine spits out Reginald. The Chimps decide to close down the Treedome, but when Dr. Marmalade holds out a banana, Sandy's "nutcracker" peels it for him. It is revealed that this is an invention that Chimps have been searching hundreds of years for. Soon they decide to let Sandy stay for 20 more years, including a higher salary. After the Chimps leave, Patrick decides to test out the machine that injured Reginald, which, of course, malfunctions on him, yet he still yells out "All right!"
Cultural References
This episode title is a parody of Chips Ahoy!, a popular cookie snack.
Christopher Ryan, Rik Mayall and Nigel Planer are best known for their roles as Mike, Rick and Neil on The Young Ones (TV series).
During the title card, the music is the same as in the episode title card, Selling Out.
The helmet Sandy invented is similar in style and design to the helmet worn by Noodle, fictional guitarist for Gorillaz, during Phase 1
Lord Reginald appears to be a parody and resemblance of Cranky Kong from the Donkey Kong Country series.
The chimps arrive in a yellow submarine. This is a possible reference to the Beatles song Yellow Submarine.
Trivia
An element of this episode, Sandy's funding potentially being cut, bears similarities to the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 episode "Laserblast", in which Dr. Clayton Forrester's funding is cut, forcing him to disconnect the Satellite of Love and leaving Mike Nelson and the Bots to what Dr. Forrester thinks will be an eventual demise.
The back scratcher that SpongeBob buys in the beginning of the episode costs him 52 boxtops.
Sandy will be able to remain in Bikini Bottom for 20 more years, before her next expiration on October 23, 2026.
When the peanut gets shredded, it has the voice of Squidward
This is the first episode to have actual land mammals in it (besides Sandy).
The monkeys have been searching for the banana-peeling nutcracker since 1889.
After Sandy's song ends, SpongeBob and Patrick start crying just like in Texas.
At one moment, Sandy is not in her breathing suit.
The things holding SpongeBob's invention together:
Bandages
Screws driven into bottlecaps
Pieces of tape made into an X
A taped down lollipop
Chewed bubble gum
The phrase on SpongeBob's invention says "Dr. Professur Patrick Rulez!" However the invention was finished before Patrick started calling himself "Mr. Dr. Prof. Patrick".
The towns for those that have nowhere else to go, as mentioned by the bus driver, in which the bus makes stops to:
Quittersville
Failuretown
Loserburg
SpongeBob's invention is called "The Automatic Back-Scratcher, Hair-Comber, Nose-Picker and Ukulele-Tuner 9000".
The peanut SpongeBob talks to says, "It's dark in here".
The inventions Patrick thinks of:
Pencil: (A stick that can be used to draw or write stuff with)
Lightbulb: (A glass ball that lights up so the user can see in the dark)
Mirror: (A parallel universe)
In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick's water helmets are worn with the openings facing up, like they wore them in "Tea at the Treedome".
The list of items shown when "The Automatic Back-Scratcher, Hair-Comber, Nose-Picker and Ukulele-Tuner 9000" goes haywire include:
An electric saw with a circular blade
A flamethrower
A pair of scissors
A corkscrew
An aerial poison dart
A tazer
Inventions the chimps have been searching for many years:
Banana peeler
Poop thrower
The chimps exclamed they searched 117 years for a bannana peeler, so they should be older than that, making the chimps the oldest mammals in Spongebob.
When the machine spits out Lord Reginald, he is bald from the accident. But when Professor Percy says to invent the Poop Thrower, Lord Reginald's hair is all grown back.
When Sandy sings her "birds that fly upon the ground" line, a manta ray swims by, releasing a bird call. This is strange, because most birds are depicted as scallops.
Patrick often insultingly refers to SpongeBob as an "unpaid intern" in this episode. Strangely, he is perfectly fine with actually being an unpaid intern (and referred to as so) in Bummer Vacation.
When SpongeBob talked to Patrick about the his mouth moved before the reflection.
When SpongeBob looks in the mirror, he is wearing his water helmet, but in the mirror it is gone.
If you look at Sandy playing her guitar, you see she's playing with her left hand. However, in other episodes like Band Geeks, she plays with her right.
In Sandy's song, you can hear string squeaks camoflauged in the the background of her music. Although in "Texas", you can hear that the guitar strumming sounds distorted, so the string squeaks can't be heard.
The title is a reference to a famous cookie "Chips Ahoy".
Running Gag: Patrick wants people to call him "Mr. Dr. Prof. Patrick".
When Patrick said SpongeBob was an Unpayed Intern, like in Phineas and Ferb Major Monogram says Carl as an Unpayed Intern.
Sandy said in the beginning of the episode that the chimps were coming that afternoon. When SpongeBob and Patrick want to help, they work all night, and the chimps come the next day.
