Sadly, the animation world lost a giant in the industry with the passing of "SpongeBob SquarePants" creator Stephen Hillenburg, who died Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 at the age of 57 after battling ALS for the past year-and-a-half.
Hillenburg, who graduated with a degree in Natural Resource Planning and Interpretation and worked as marine biology teacher at the Orange County Marine Institute in California before honing his artistic skills at California Institute of the Arts, created "SpongeBob" for Nickelodeon in 1999.
This year marks the 19th anniversary of “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Since the show’s debut, over 240 episodes have aired, with Season 12 just getting underway on Nov. 11. It has amassed a number of exceptional installments, memorable moments, hilarious internet memes and even some notable milestones that took place outside of the box...the TV box, that is. (SpongeBob and his friends were even mentioned in the latest "Avengers" movie for Marvel.)
In honor of Hillenburg's work, here are some of the best “SpongeBob SquarePants” episodes, memes and other moments.
More must-reads:
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