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NOAA diver spots creatures resembling SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star
A sponge and a starfish resembling the beloved cartoon characters SpongeBob and Patrick caught the eye of NOAA during a recent live stream. (Credit: NOAA via Storyful)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) didn’t find a pineapple under the sea, but it did find something absorbent and yellow and porous.
A July 27 live stream showed a yellow hertwigia (sponge) next to a pink chondraster (starfish), which unmistakably resemble the Nickelodeon cartoon characters Spongebob Squarepants and his best friend Patrick Star.
"I normally avoid these refs..but WOW. REAL LIFE Sponge bob and Patrick," marine biologist Dr. Christopher Mah wrote on Twitter.
NOAA said the creatures were discovered in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the New England coast — which appears to be the location of the fictitious Bikini Bottom.
The stream does not show the two engaging in nautical nonsense, a money-loving crab or Texas-doting squirrel. There was also no sight of a grumpy squid or the sounds of a clarinet.
This story was reported from Atlanta.