Bikini Bottom

Bikini Bottom, Pacific Ocean

The Center of Bikini Butt . The Center of Bikini Butt .

Bikini Bottom is a city located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, that serves as the setting of SpongeBob SquarePants. It is populated by various sea creatures, including SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends. It is below Bikini Atoll.

Religion

There is evidence of bikini Bottom's religions. They use catchy phrases such as "Neptune preserve her", "Neptune give me strength", "By Neptune" but that does not mean they worship Neptune. Sandy Cheeks may be Christian since she came from Texas and because she taught the Bikini Bottomites about Christmas, a Christian holiday.

Overview

Bikini Bottom is located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, directly below the island of Bikini Atoll, according to Stephen Hillenburg. Bikini Bottom is shown from afar as a densely structured city consisting mostly of large funnel-shaped buildings and located in a sandy clearing surrounded by mountainous rock formations. Other buildings are based on ocean-related objects, such as anchors, ships and lighthouses.

The boundaries of Bikini Bottom seem to extend far beyond this aforementioned city, however; the houses of SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward, as well as the Krusty Krab and Chum Bucket are located on a very long street that features no "generic" buildings and appears to be on the outskirts of the city proper. Other buildings on this street include Sandy's Treedome and Shady Shoal's Retirement Home.

Popular areas of outdoor "play", such as Goo Lagoon, Jellyfish Fields and DK Mountain are also shown to be located far away from the downtown area, with long stretches of barren fields of sand separating them. Geographical features seen in this area include forests, lakes, caves, grasslands, reefs and rivers. In The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, SpongeBob and Patrick venture beyond Bikini Bottom, the limits of which is shown to be located several miles away from the central city. The region beyond includes such hazardous features as volcanoes, trenches and deserts. Squidward describes Bikini Bottom as being isolated "in the middle of scenic nowhere", reinforcing the idea that Bikini Bottom is a remote and overpopulated city.

Roads

Some of the roads in Bikini Bottom are: Albatross Avenue Anchor Way Conch Street- Main road of Bikini Bottom Conch Avenue Coral Avenue- Intersects with Conch Street King Street- Where Squilliam and Neptune live. Life Drive- Where larry lives.

Inhabitants

While most of Bikini Bottom's inhabitants are generic fish, it is populated by all types of sea creatures, including whales, crabs, sponges, octopi/squids, starfish, blowfish, anchovies, lobsters, sharks and others. Sandy Cheeks, a scientist squirrel from Texas, is the only prominent land animal who lives in Bikini Bottom, and survives by wearing an astronaut-like suit. Her home, the Treedome, is an airtight terrarium that simulates a squirrel's natural habitat and contains small land animals, such as snakes and birds, which are kept by Sandy as pets.

"Animals" include snails (most notably Gary), which behave like household cats, worms, which behave like dogs, scallops, which are equivalent to common birds, and Jellyfish, which are similar to bees and produce edible "jelly", among others.

The population of Bikini Bottom is at an estimated 105,000, but mostly it is uncertain. Stephen Hillenburg has stated that Bikini Bottom is a "large city". In "Patty Hype", SpongeBob's Pretty Patties stand attracted 46,853 customers. In "What Ever Happened to SpongeBob?", the population is stated to be 538. In "Driven to Tears", Patrick is told that he is the millionth Bikini Bottomite to receive a driver's license, and in "Nautical Novice" Mrs. Puff tells SpongeBob that he is going to ruin millions of lives if he does not stop the boat in time, suggesting a population of over one million.it is likely that its 5,000,000

Languages

Languages of Bikini Bottom are obviously English, due to its location under Bikini Atoll, but also, in Christmas Who?, one of the fish says, "I hope Santa can read Portuguese!", implying Portuguese is another language or that fish's second language. In Grooming Gary, after Gary makes his speech, someone asks if someone in the place could speak Snail, and Spongebob responds that he can, implying Snail is also a native language. In Wormy, Patrick is seen whistling to Sandy's bird. Patrick states that he is not speaking Bird, but that he's speaking Italian.

History

The history of Bikini Bottom can be traced back to prehistoric times, as first shown in "SB-129". Here, primitive and violent ancestors of SpongeBob and Patrick are seen. In "Ugh", which apparently takes place at a later and more advanced point in time, ancestors of SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward are shown, who, unlike the ones seen in "SB-129", have a spoken language and more closely resemble their modern-day counterparts.

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A scene from "Dunces and Dragons" that depicts a medieval Bikini Bottom as a village known as Bikini Bottomshire.

In the Medieval Era, as seen in "Dunces and Dragons" the area was known as "Bikini Bottomshire" and was ruled by King Krabs and his daughter Princess Pearl. The kingdom was tormented by the evil wizard Planktonomor and his fire-breathing "dragon" (a giant jellyfish). When SpongeBob and Patrick were mysteriously transported to this time, they were identified by a prophecy as heroes summoned to defeat Planktonomor, which they ultimately did.

The Hazanha Fish inhabited Bikini Bottom in the 1500s. The nation was named Hazanha, and it was an absolute monarchy ruled by a king.

Sometime after the 1500s, Bikini Bottom underwent a Civil War. The origins of the war are a bit controversial with Patrick stating that the war began as a result of cleaning freedoms, while the fish at the reenactment denied that claim. At the end of the war, Bikini Bottom was reunited and everyone gained the right to clean as they wish.

As shown in "Pest of the West", Bikini Bottom was known as "Bikini Gulch", (renamed "Dead Eye Gulch" by Plankton) during the American Old West era. An ancestor of SpongeBob, Sheriff SpongeBuck SquarePants, saved Bikini Gulch from Dead Eye Plankton, and a statue honoring him still stands in modern Bikini Bottom.

The Krusty Krab, Bikini Bottom's most successful daytime restaurant, was established at an unknown date by Eugene Krabs (it was in service by 1959, according to the episode "Hooky"). The Chum Bucket was opened shortly after, marking the beginning of Plankton's constant attempts to discover the Krabby Patty secret formula. As of "Plankton's Army", his first attempt occurred at least twenty-five years ago.

According to his driver's license in the episodes "Sleepy Time" and "No Free Rides", SpongeBob SquarePants was born on July 14, 1986. By the time of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, which has been stated to take place after the series, SpongeBob has been working at the Krusty Krab for at least thirty years. In 1994, Bikini Bottom declared it's independence from Rock Bottom.

Government and Law

The government of Bikini Bottom is never consistently established; however, it has recurringly been shown to be ruled by a king. A mayor is also seen in various episodes. In "Good Neighbors", Squidward briefly believes that he has been elected "president" of Bikini Bottom. In "Imitation Krabs", SpongeBob and "Mr. Krabs" sing the "Bikini Bottom National Anthem". During the medieval period of "Dunces and Dragons", "Bikini Bottomshire" was ruled by the Krabs family. In the Movie, Neptune is portrayed as a despotic king of the sea, rather than a god, as shown in Neptune's Spatula". His palace is apparently located in or around Bikini Bottom. In the episode "Rule of Dumb", a family tree of Bikini Bottom's past rulers, including "King Amoeba" and "Queen Mildew", is discovered, and Patrick is told that he is the heir to their throne, and is made the king of Bikini Bottom. Patrick gravely abuses his new power, angering the people of the city, and once he realizes the error of his ways, goes back to the historian to relinquish his position, only to learn that Gary has been discovered to be the true heir to the throne, and is made king. Or it could be that Neptune is the ruler of the sea, and Bikini Bottom is a republic with a president and a mayor.

Public nudity is illegal. This is revealed in the episode "Someone's in the Kitchen with Sandy", when Plankton steals Sandy's fur coat to get the formula.

Bikini Bottom's legal system is similarly inconsistent. Police officers, a police department, and a prison are commonly seen. A courthouse is seen in Krabs vs. Plankton", "Driven to Tears" and "The Krusty Sponge". People are frequently shown to be arrested and sent to prison for minor and/or illegitimate infractions without due process of law. Littering has been shown to be a serious crime in various episodes, such as "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler", "Driven to Tears" and "Blackjack", possibly as some sort of in-joke. In "Party Pooper Pants", two police arrest SpongeBob for not inviting them to his house party, and in "Ditchin'", a fish is arrested for possessing Swedish Fish.

Transportation

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Bikini Bottom traffic light.

Bikini Bottom has a wide array of different transportation systems. As in the real world, roads and highways serve Bikini Bottom's buses, taxis, and boats (boats are the underwater equivalent of cars). An airport is seen in Bikini Bottom, as well as a lighthouse near the edge of the Goo Lagoon; helping to avoid late night accidents.

Bikini Bottom's main road is Conch Street. Conch Street runs from SpongeBob's, Patrick's, and Squidward's houses, past the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket, and stretches as far as downtown Bikini Bottom. It intersects with Coral Avenue, which is located in downtown Bikini Bottom. A series of highways run just on the outskirts of the city, and in the middle of downtown, a thruway is present. A road leads from Atlantis to Bikini Bottom, as seen in the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Another road leads from Bikini Bottom to Rock Bottom which goes past the Glove World Theme park. An interesting feature of this road is that for a distance it runs straight down a cliff. The only ways up from the bottom are by bus or with a balloon. Other roads include Albatross Avenue, Anchor Way, Barnacle Road, Seashell Street, Shallow Grave Road, Neptune Lane, Acqua Lane, Clammy Street, and Stormy Way.

The name of the city bus service is Snailways, a pun on "Trailways", whose buses are fashioned from red submarines. This bus service stops at almost anywhere in Bikini Bottom and beyond (much like a Greyhound Bus). Sandy Cheeks mentioned in a deleted scene of SpongeBob SquarePants Movie that buses run from Shell City to Bikini Bottom, although SpongeBob and Patrick took alternative transport by riding David Hasselhoff. Like any city Bikini Bottom has a huge traffic issue, with roads and highways clogged up even in the afternoon. It is very common for somebody coming back from work to be stuck in traffic.

Another mode of transportation is by train. Trains in Bikini Bottom are only seen twice in the entire series. They are briefly seen in "Pest of the West" and "Blackened Sponge"

Bikini Bottom also has a ferry which only so far goes to Chum World theme park as seen in Revenge of the Flying Dutchman.

Crime

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Bikini Bottom Police HQ.

Bikini Bottom has its fair share of criminals such as Plankton and the Tattletale Strangler. Mr. Krabs has been known to steal, or "borrow" as he calls it. Mrs. Puff or Squidward are always blamed for the crimes actually committed by SpongeBob or Patrick and are either arrested or fined to do community service. At one point, a bomb exploded in the Krusty Krab, blowing a hole in the rear of the building. The bomb itself, which had the total energy of a nuclear bomb had been made in a factory, or so the pirates who sold it to Squidward said. There is also the punishment of execution by King Neptune, such as for stealing his crown. Bikini Bottom has two prisons: The Institution for the Criminally Tiny and Bikini Bottom Jail for everyone else. The underwater city has its own courthouse, headed by a female fish judge. In future episodes, the judge is a male. The Bikini Bottom Police Department is a reasonably fair organization, despite arresting citizens for no real reason whatsoever, and has been known to imprison SpongeBob and Patrick for their crime of stealing balloons and then releasing them to tell the two that it was National Free Balloon Day. They also once arrested SpongeBob for not inviting them to his party. And a police officer repeatedly gave Sqidward tickets for littering because he saw trash by where he was standing and didn't even give Squidward a chance to explain himself. In the game SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab, the army makes an appearance, it seems the army is made out of Helicopters with giant nets (used to capture Plankton), tanks that shoot blue flames, Special laser machines, Electric fields, and Bomb throwing tanks. The SWAT team has also been mentioned a few times in SpongeBob like in the episodes Fungus Among Us, when Squidward calls the SWAT team to take SpongeBob away and The Thing when SpongeBob and Patrick help Squidward escape from his zoo cage.The SWAT team has a HAZMAT (Hazardous Materials) division.This was the division that took away Spongebob in Fungus Among Us.

Prison

There are two known prisons in Bikini Bottom, in which prisoners are sent to fulfill there sentences for various crime

Bikini Bottom Jail: The most seen prison, the Bikini Bottom Jail is the main prison that is seen constantly throughout the series. It is a big, tall building with an unexplained ball and chain attached to it. The jail also has a guard tower on the left side of the front, in which a guard watches for escapees. The jail has various activities for the prisoners, including breaking rocks, making coat hangers, and serving as the cook for the kitchen, as seen in Doing Time.

Inferno Island: Inferno island is an island prison located outside of the Bikini Bottom Port, making it the underwater equivalent of Alcatraz Island. The more deadly criminals usually go there. It is run by a drill sergant like warden that evidently hates criminals, calling them "trash that society has thrown away". Like Bikini Bottom Jail, it has has the usual prison activities, and later had a macaroni sculpting activity that managed to drive every prisoner nuts with boredom. To go there, the criminals board a large, grey boat that is filled with guards, making it inescapable. The criminals on the island are evidently more mistreated than in Bikini Bottom Jail, as they sleep on metal beds with fake pillows and sometimes, if really bad, have to spend three days in a hole with chum poured into it which prisoners, evident by a skeleton, can sometimes die in it. It only appears in The Inmates of Summer.

Though both prisons are extremely secure, the guards and wardens seem to be quite unintelligent. The warden was completely oblivious to the fact that Spongebob and Patrick were there on accident, and thought they were other criminals. In Doing Time, one of the guards again was oblivious to the fact that the two were trying to break Mrs. Puff out, and thought they were objects in most of the episode. All of the main characters have been to these prisons for various reasons.

Police

Bikini Bottom also has its own police force. They are the main force of law enforcment and ussualy appear the most out out of all the minor characters on the show. There are many different classes of police that appear in various episodes.

Regular policman: The ordinary police appear the most out of all the classes. They are easily recoknized by their uniforms and usually war big star badges on their chests. Because the show is for kids, they do not carry guns and only use melee weapons such as batons and night sticks. In earlier episodes, they are shown to have relativly short legs and were usually bent down, but later episodes depicted them as normal body shapes. They are skilled combatnants and can use almost anything to fight, as in Nasty Patty, a policman took down a "zombie" with one hit from an anchor.

SWAT: The Swat teams of bikini bottom are far better trained the normal policeman and are sent to handle mor serious crimes that happen occasinally in various episodes. They were what appear to be bulletproof vest and were transparent visors. Like the police, the tend to use melee weapons but are seen in later episodes using spear guns, though they are never fired and are not seen shooting anyone they are chasing.

Riot cops: Riot cops are sent to transport prisioners to destinations and prisons. They dress acsactly like Swat members but carry riot sheilds rather than weapons. They are the most minor out of all the police forces and only appear in a few episodes.

While they usually get the job done, the police forces have shown to have surprisingly low intelligence: In Spongbob meets the Strangler, they arrested Patrick for being the strangler, even though they new what the real strangler looked like; In The Smoking Peanut, they again arrest Patrick for throwing the peanut at Clamu, though their clues would obviously lead to Spongebob, who really threw it. They are also quick to judge and usually arrest people without giving them a second look, most notably in the episode where Squidward picks up trash and every time a piece of trash lands in front of him, a policeman gives a ticket without allowing him to explain himself. This can also be seen in Someone's in the kichen With Sandy, where they arrest Sandy for public nudity without allowing her to explain that Plankton stole her pelt. Also, they focus on the little things, as in Doing Time, they instead go after Spongebob and Mrs. Puff only because they didn't have a front license plate on their car.

Health

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Bikini Bottom Hospital.

The healthcare in Bikini Bottom is uncertain; the Bikini Bottom Hospital has been able to cure or have a cure for any patient, with the exception of food poisoning and eating bombs (There have been 11 cases). Many different sicknesses have been cured, such as the Suds, car accident recovery, cash-coma, and others. In the episode, "Just One Bite", it is revealed that there is another hospital, specifically for weenies, entitled Weenie Hut General. Dr. Forrest is the most well-known doctor in Bikini Bottom. He always appears on the scene when a health issue is involved. There are also health insurance agents, which contributes to the health system, as mentioned by Mrs. Puff.The Bikini Bottom's healthcare system also applies to pets and even objects. A Vet Hospital is located on Conch Street, where the Doctorfish is also a veterinarian. The veterinarians can sometimes mistake Squidward's clarinet playing for a dying animal. Ambulances usually appear the moment someone gets injured, which can be indicative of good healthcare.

Notable fictional ailments shown in the series include:

• Mad Snail Disease: An urban legend that supposedly turns anyone bitten by an infected snail into a zombie. Caused mass hysteria in Bikini Bottom in the episode "Once Bitten" until it was proven to not actually exist. Parody of Mad Cow Disease.
• Suds: An equivalent of the common cold that presumably can only affect sponges. Indicated by pink bubbles blowing out of the afflicted's pores. Can be cured by using the sponge for cleaning and rubbing. It apears in the episode Suds.
• Ick: A parasitic fungus that rapidly spreads and sticks onto anything it comes into contact with. The only know way to cure it is to have a snail eat it. Appears in the episode Fungus Among Us.

Industrial park

The Industrial Park is the where Bikini Bottom appears to get most of its products. The are is covered with factories and toxic waste and is located a few miles from downtown bikini bottom. The area around the park is highly polluted, as the sky can be seen covered with smoke from the factories. It only appears in Prehibernation Week and only appears in the episode for about 15 seconds. In Battle for Bikini Bottom however, it plays a much bigger role in the franchise and is where the player fights robo patrick.

Environment

Bikini Bottom is shown to be quite a city. Littering is highly prohibited, and the areas around Bikini Bottom are pristine. Some citizens may also be vegetarians, as Hillenburg revealed that they'd be cannibals if they ate meat, and it is possible that they could be using the underwater currents to produce electricity (as no coal-fired power plants have been seen yet). Most of the buildings are also made of recycled material. The only problem is that with high population and the amount of automobiles Bikini Bottom can become very smoggy, as mentioned by Sandy in Chimps Ahoy, and cheap products have also been a problem, as lightbulbs have constantly been seen burning out, and products have been seen turning against their owners (such as Le Spatula refusing to flip a krabby patty). Global warming has also affected Bikini Bottom, as seen in the educational short, "The Endless Summer." The industrial park is an area of Bikini Bottom consisting of factories and manufacturers, which produce toxic chemicals and pollution. For a while, Bikini Bottom appeared polluted in "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" when it was known as Planktopolis. It has also appeared polluted during the episode "SpongeBob's Last Stand" due to the Shelly Super-Highway, but it is now clear.

Culture

The culture of the city is a caricature of contemporary American culture.

The Arts give Bikini Bottom a better outlook on knowledge and creativity. Bikini Bottom houses three museums: The Fry Cook Museum, the Fish Hook Museum and the Can Opener Museum (From annual 2008). Bikini Bottom also has a music hall, a convention hall, and an Art Society. Squidward Tentacles contributes highly to many of the arts and music Bikini Bottom has to offer, and so does Squilliam Fancyson.

Entertainment in Bikini Bottom contributes to the social interaction within the city. Such venues include the Bubble Bowl, Glove World, Goofy Goober's Ice Cream Party Boat (for the kids), Weenie Hut Jr's, Super Weenie Hut Jr's, the Salty Spittoon club (for strong people only), the Thug Tug and Tough Tavern bars (for tough men only) and the Reef Cinema. Most sporting events take place at the Poseidome or the Fast Food Colisseum. The Krusty Krab houses entertainment with shows such as the Annual Squidward Tentacles Talent Show (featuring the unpopular Squidward Live segment), The Komedy Krab and "Live Nude Pranksters", which featured an unclothed SpongeBob and Patrick. In addition, a popular band called "Ned and the Needlefish" started in Bikini Bottom. Also, "Boys Who Cry" is a popular boy band which sang on Pearl's 16th birthday.

Media

Bikini Bottom has many forms of media. News, magazines, radio, and television contribute to Bikini Bottom's wide spread of news and entertainment.

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Bikini Bottom News Flash.

• The city paper is called the Bikini Times. It features the regular news, as well as daily comics. One of the comics is called The Wisenheimers. There is another newspaper that is called the Bikini Bottom Inquirer, which is a parody of The National Inquirer.

• There are two science magazines called Fake Science Monthly and Boring Science Digest. Another magazine is called Fancy Living Digest, and a tabloid called The Bikini Bottom Inquirer. There is another magazine that is called Long, Tan and Handsome. There are two dance magazines: Dance Now and Interpretive Dance Quarterly. Another magazine is Frown Digest. Other magazines include Lobster Home Journal, Jellyfish Weekly,Krusty Bottom Weekly, Urchin Weekly, Octopolian, CarpNews, Snow Tires Weekly, Clams (a business magazine),and Mime Weekly (In a SpongeBob comic).

• There are five radio stations in Bikini Bottom, which are called

-WH2O (Hot Adult Contemporary, presumably) whose main DJ is Al BaCore (aka "The Tuneful Tuna"),

-KRUM (CHR/Dance music) and

-KOLD (Classic Hits/Standards in the morning), which goes by the slogan "Your All-Oldies Station".

-There also appears to be boy bands and rock bands; the first being "Boys Who Cry" (an R&B that Pearl enjoys), "Stingray 5000" (presumably Album Rock), and "Ned and the Needlefish", who appear in "Wigstruck", and

-KRUD (All Your "You Won't Get Away With Stealing My Car!" Hits.) , which Spongebob imitated in No Free Rides.

• It is unknown how many television stations there are in Bikini Bottom. There are only two known channels.They are "Bikini Bottom News," aparrently a cable news channel with Perch Perkins and the Realistic Fish Head, and a local channel called Bikini Bottom Public Access(from Tentacle-Vision). We do know that there are programs such as Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy and The New Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy cartoons, ' Retirement House Girls Gone Wild, Bikini Bottom Car Wash, The Coconut, The Rockfish Files, Bikini Bottom Live from Bikini Bottom and more. It is known that there is a separate channel featuring somebody playing the Goofy Goober guitar (as featured on SpongeBob's TV in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie computer game), a kids station (featuring cartoons), a sports station (football was only seen), a science channel, an exercise program with a sea anemone and a boxing channel (both featuring boxes, seen in the episode Idiot Box) and an adult program featuring real life organisms dancing. The final channel, featured on Idiot Box, is actually a test pattern, but SpongeBob refers to it as his "Secret TV Channel." There also appears to be a comedy program featuring a live-action royal gramma in one episode.

• The most well-known TV-talking food-critic in Bikini Bottom is Gene Scallop, a reference to his own voice actor Gene Shalit. In the episode What ever happened to SpongeBob? it is indicated that Bikini Bottom is in the New Kelp City television viewing market due to the fact that near the end there was a slide with "KNKC" on it reporting New Kelp City news. Scallop eventually reviews the Krusty Krab on television in The Krusty Sponge.

Sports

It is most likely that in Bikini Bottom, most of the citizens enjoy American football. SpongeBob frequently watches the sport in his spare time. Squidward had dreams of becoming a Wide Receiver. Sporting events occur in Bikini Bottom, such as the Fry Cook Games (parody of the Olympic Games), the Great Snail Race, and the Anchor Toss Competition.

• Every year Bikini Bottom has the Fry Cook Games (a spoof of the Olympic Games but with fast food). The Fry Cook Games are held at Bikini Bottom's Fast Food Coliseum. The first annual competition was held in 1980. Eugene H. Krabs and Sheldon J. Plankton went head to head against each other until the 21st Fry Cook Games in 2001. There, The Krusty Krab was represented by SpongeBob SquarePants, and The Chum Bucket was represented by Patrick Star. In the 21st Fry Cook Games, there were 8 events (The chocolate high dive, bun toss, butter skating, giant ketchup bottle toss, hurdles, while carrying platters, riding giant spatulas and samba dancing). The tie breaker was bun wrestling. The winner was never determined.

• The Great Snail Race is an annual race between snails at Oyster Stadium, which is located in the Bikini Bottom Zoo. At the pre-game ceremony, of the 102nd Running of the Snail, Lightning Larry Luciano (The winner of the first race) lights the Torch of Good Sportsmanship (although very slowly). After the torch is lit, the games begin. The first snail to make it across the finish line, wins. The result of the 102nd race ended with Rocky (won by default, owned by Patrick Star, actually a Pet Rock) in first place, Snellie (owned by Squidward Tentacles) in second place, and Gary (disqualified, owned by SpongeBob SquarePants) in last place, disqualified due to the coach running on to the race track. Patrick had the trophy engraved to Squidward Tortellini (mistaken for Squidward Tentacles), because he had wanted to win very badly.

• The Anchor Toss Competition is a contest of strong ocean dwellers tossing a large anchor on a 510+ yard field. A referee goes and measures the distance between the tosser and the anchor, but is constantly hit by it. SpongeBob was part of the contest, along with Sandy Cheeks, Don the Whale, and Larry the Lobster.

• Jellyfishing is a fictional sport that is similar to fishing.The first episode with jellyfishing was Tea at the Treedome but the sport's name wasn't revealed.Jellyfishing involves hunting jellyfish using a wooden net and a plastic jar. The sport was first introduced in the episode "Jellyfishing." In the episode, the characters SpongeBob and Patrick take their neighbor Squidward to Jellyfish Fields, where many episode plots involving jellyfishing would be set in. Nickelodeon, the cable TV network that owns the rights to SpongeBob SquarePants, has released two products based on the sport. They are slumber bags and wall borders.

• 'Bubble blowing is another hobby in Bikini bottom. But the only bubble blowers known are SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star, although Squidward has blown bubbles before. SpongeBob once set up a Bubblestand and charged 25 cents for bubble blowing; 25 cents for lessons. There is a special technique to bubble blowing: "First go like this, spin around. Stop. Double take 3 times: 1, 2, 3. Then, PELVIC THRUST. Stop on your right foot, DON'T FORGET IT. Then bring it around town. Then you do this, then this, and this, then this, then that, then this and that." Some awkward shapes of bubbles include an elephant (Patrick: It's a Giraffe!), butterflies, worms, among others. Two bubble-themed episodes are "Bubblestand" and "Bubble Buddy." SpongeBob finds bubble-blowing to be quite useful as he can clean things up and send messages in them.

Other sports include those that are played by people in the real world, such as weight lifting, swimming, volleyball, karate, and hot dog eating contests. Weight lifting is very popular at Goo Lagoon. There are even weight lifting competitions at Goo Lagoon. SpongeBob even has a small fitness center at his house. However, instead of weights, SpongeBob uses stuffed animals (rabbits) as weights. SpongeBob has used a stick with two marshmallows attached to it, which he could not lift. Swimming is a very popular sport at Goo Lagoon. There are small circular pools elsewhere in the city. Volleyball Just like the real sport. In Bikini Bottom, volleyball is played at Goo Lagoon. Karate is a popular sport for SpongeBob and Sandy. Some Karate moves include the Double Overhand Squirrel Knot and the Squirrel and the Tin Cans. Two Karate-themed episodes are "Karate Choppers" and "Karate Island." A hot dog eating contest is briefly shown during the episode "SpongeGuard on Duty". Bowling also seems to be a sport since a bowling alley was shown in the PC version of "Battle for Bikini Bottom".

Holidays

Bikini Bottom has its share of holidays. It has five main holidays, as in the real world: Valentine's Day (February 14); Halloween (October 31); Christmas (December 25); Easter; and Independence Day (July 4). Three minor holidays are celebrated in Bikini Bottom, which humans know of. These are Opposite Day (Although Squidward may have made this up to get SpongeBob out of his sight.) (January 25), April Fools Day (April 1), and Leif Erikson Day (which the show claims SpongeBob made up) (October 9). Other holidays are not known in the real world, but are known in Bikini Bottom: Annoy Squidward Day (January 15), Bikini Bottom Zoo Annual Free Day, Best Friends Day, National Free Balloon Day, and Starfish Day and Porpoise Day. There is also a National No SpongeBob Day and also a No Patrick Day.

Events

There are popular events that take place in Bikini Bottom. Most of these events take place at Goo Lagoon. Such events include the Anchor Toss Competition, Hotdog Chug Contest, Sand Castle Competition, Surfing Competition, and the Weight Lifting Competition. An Art Contest occurs at the Bikini Bottom Art Society. Sporting events such as the Great Snail Race takes place at Oyster Stadium; the Fry Cook Games take place at the Fast Food Coliseum. The Bubble Bowl, a musical event in which the Bikini Bottom Super Band plays at takes place in a human football stadium. Bikini Bottom has a carnival, as well as an annual Scavenger Hunt, in which SpongeBob has won three times in a row.

Anthem

Oh, Bikini Bottom,

we pledge our hearts to you,

as faithful, as deep, as true, as blue!

Bikini Bottom, we love you!

Features

Bikini Bottom contains most of the features and landmarks found in a typical American city, though presented in an aquatic style; the citizens, for instance, drive wheeled boats instead of cars. Buildings in Bikini Bottom often resemble aquatic items such as wooden ships and anchors. Most of Bikini Bottom's citizens live in simple gray, cylindrical metal houses made from parts of sunken submarines and boats. However, the homes of the series' main and supporting characters tend to be more distinctive. Water ways, such as rivers and lakes in which the citizens fish and swim in, are in the form of goo instead of water. There is also a "Sea Needle" downtown, which is based off of Seattle's "Space Needle". Bikini Bottom may be ma parody of Baltimore

Other places

There are places and features outside Bikini Bottom. Most of them appear in video games.

Other towns and cities in SpongeBob SquarePants include Rock Bottom, Bass Vegas, Ukulele Bottom,Apple World, Atlantis, Leisure Village, Tentacle Acres, Palm Bay and Bottoms Up/Waverly Hills, New Kelp City, plus Bikini Atoll on the surface. Shell City (also on the surface) is six days away through a long and dangerous route beyond the County Line (the boundary of Bikini Bottom).