[Music] all right let's do this you are about to see three short clips from the popular cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants as you watch try to find the one theme that they all have in common ready I wonder what's in that secret formula clinics that nobody would notice [Laughter] some people are even late on Sunday [Music] forever yours is truly the iron will [Music] really this is your status detent yet even chip knows that Patrick in the same costume he wore for Halloween last year who's your friend but but you're supposed to be in a gorilla suit I'm in the gorilla suit I thought I was doing a pretty good job if you're Patrick [Music] [Music] so anything stand out let's take a closer look I thought I was doing a pretty good job Patrick might strike he was a little weird that not one and not two but all three of these clips have specific references to fish who are wearing costumes or some kind of skin but this must be a coincidence right wrong and these aren't even a fraction of the clips that you are about to see welcome so skin theory now before we get rolling a quick overview first we'll explain the basics of skin theory and define it next an in-depth analysis of one very important moment from the show after that you'll see every single example of skin theory currently known to exist then the various interpretations of skin theory will be discussed and we'll try to answer some of the biggest questions concerning what it all means and finally we'll look at the creative minds behind Sponge Bob who could have had a hand in creating skin theory as well as one man in particular who might be responsible for at all followed by some closing thoughts now let's begin [Music] skin theory can be summarized with one basic definition and for supporting principles the basic definition is all of this you can read the official definition here but basically what this is all getting at is just one simple idea and the idea is this within the show SpongeBob SquarePants there are a shockingly high amount of these bizarre moments where some character will take off their skin or put on someone else's skin or use fake body parts or dress up like different types of fish or reveal human features underneath their fishy exterior in simplest terms that is skin theory but the key here is that these moments are in incredibly common way more common in fact than any other children's cartoon show and that brings us to the first principle skin theory is based on the analogical nature of human society compared to what can be observed in Bikini Bottom or in other words the inconsistency of basic societal norms in Bikini Bottom are deeply disturbing as for the second skin theory is not hidden from the characters in Spongebob it is hidden from the viewer so essentially all the sea creatures in Bikini Bottom are aware of this skin wearing and they recognize it as normal acceptable behavior on to the next principal skin theory is propagated by extra-textual forces meaning skin theory isn't just a weird quirk that formed naturally or accidentally but rather it was intentionally injected into the show by the writers producers and showrunners who worked on it also notice that the reference is the skin theory are densely concentrated within seasons one through four but they rarely appear in seasons after that and there is an explanation for why which we'll get to later anyway the fourth principal skin theory is a multi-faceted work in progress so there isn't just one official interpretation but rather there are multiple sub theories out there this includes the ritual aspect the mass psychosis elements and the costumed human hypothesis and yes those do sound completely insane but later on in the video we're gonna go into detail regarding all three okay what's next so at this point in the video you might be thinking this idea is ridiculous it's insane I would need to see many many solid examples before I even think about believing it and that's good skepticism is good but you're about to see those examples after all the three clips you saw at the beginning are only the tip of the iceberg on a couple if you want arms like alright alright let's not get ahead of ourselves before we can truly appreciate what's going on here we need to firmly grasp the first principle here it is again now this analogy isn't really something we think about when we watch the show but it's always there and it's very important there are a whole bunch of examples I can illustrate this point but one in particular stands out as especially striking specific and deeply disturbing everybody remembers dying for pie it's an all-time classic episode from season two personally I think this is one of the best spongebob episodes ever written right up there next to band geeks and chocolate with nuts it's got tons of witty dialogue in iconic moments but you might not even realize that it also has one of the most disturbing moments in cartoon history but anyway the scene we're talking about occurs while Squidward is attempting to help spongebob complete a list of funding activities everyone in town wearing a suit you're gonna be wearing a salmon suit so the scene might have struck you as a little strange when you first watched it but in reality it should strike you as downright horrifying and here's why SpongeBob SquarePants is a show about fish and undersea creatures no surprise there but these aren't real fish their interpretations of fish and in these particular interpretations they're meant to serve as parallels to human beings after all if it was accurate to how sea creatures actually looked and behaved the show would look something like this riveting so anyway in order for the show to work bikini bottom needs to be a nearly perfect parallel of human society for instance we see things like boat Mobile's shell phones and Krabby Patties and our mind immediately jumps to the real world parallel that these objects are clearly referring to in this case it's a car a cell phone and a hamburger but the same premise applies to broader concepts about society as well for instance just like how our society runs on a currency system where people exchange cash and work jobs to earn money the same is true in bikini bottom and just like how our society employs a criminal justice system the same is true in bikini bottom and lastly our society uses relatable humor as a form of leisure and so does bikini bottom for example if someone does something funny in bikini bottom that same action should be equally funny if it were to occur in human society and from this it also follows that unacceptable behavior in bikini bottom would be considered unacceptable behavior in human society so far this should all just be common sense and this is where things get disturbing salmon is a type of fish now to us fish are just fish you know simple animals who are caught and eaten every day no big deal but to the citizens of Bikini Bottom fish are people fish are their friends their neighbors their family fish are literally everywhere they look so when Squidward puts on this horrifying suit of a salmon the kids aren't just seeing a funny pink costume they're seeing a complete stranger walk up to them wearing the naked skin of someone they probably know I mean this kid even looks like a salmon what if he is a salmon what if his whole family is a bunch of salmon think about how disturbing that would be for him this costume is not okay it's beyond messed up to think that Squidward would actually do this let me put this another way what would you do if you and your friends were walking in a park one day just minding your own business when suddenly a stranger comes up out of nowhere and Oh what do you know he's literally wearing the loose severed skin of a naked human being are you kidding me and what if he tried to talk to you that's probably why they're throwing rocks Squidward looks like he just murdered somebody seriously this is like Silence of the Lambs but worse this is supposed to be a kids show oh but wait that's not even as bad as it gets because this isn't actually what a salmon looks like and I'm not talking about the animation style I'm talking about the color now I know most of you have probably eaten salmon before and yes it's always been in this kind of off pink color but really think about that for a second that's how it looks on your plate after it's been cleaned filleted and cooked so on the inside yes salmon meat is pink but what about the outside what do real salmon look like salmon who are actually alive [Music] gray they look gray in reality you need to cut the skin off before any pink parts even begin to show which means Squidward salmon suit isn't only the naked hideously deformed representation of a sentient member of Bikini Bottom Society it's also supposed to be a salmon that has had all of its outer skin sliced off holy Sh hopefully now you're beginning to see how some of the most harmless moments from SpongeBob SquarePants can completely collapse in the blink of an eye so the salmon suit is a great moment to analyze but it's only one instance and one instance isn't enough to support an entire theory that's why i've compiled dozens of unique moments all pulled from a variety of episodes which you are about to see but before that just keep a few things in mind first all the clips you're about to see have been taken from seasons 1 2 3 & 4 and as you might know SpongeBob SquarePants is currently on its 12th season this will be explored later secondly you're about to see a ton of clips but it's very possible that even more exists out there which have yet to be discovered third the criteria for what makes something in instance of skin theory is intentionally open-ended each one is going to be different from the last and lastly as you watch try not to think of these as individual moments that exist on their own but rather as connected pieces that all appear in the context of one another becoming more significant when considered as a whole okay here we go I can't go anywhere ever again [Music] my point so right off the bat we got Sponge Bob climbing into mr. Krabs his body and this scene might be humorous when viewed on its own but when you watch the episode again with skin theory in mind kind of changes this reference is about as cut and dry as it gets I mean he literally wears mr. Krabs but believe it or not this isn't the only time that mr. Krabs and SpongeBob have switched bodies mr. Krabs some guy in a suit wants to come in before we open what guy in a suit he's got a card ra penny-pincher vending supplies what they also do it in the episode skill crane although this time the roles are reversed next we have a moment that comes from one of SpongeBob's all-time classics no weenies allowed I had a bull and nails for breakfast this morning yes so well any nail right this way sorry to keep you waiting welcome to the salty spitoon how tough are you anymore crack is the deeper we go here the more examples you're gonna see where one character has parts of their skin ripped off and then reapplied as if nothing happened granted if there were only a handful of these weird moments throughout the show they probably wouldn't be worth mentioning but as you'll see there are just way too many of them to ignore for example no spongebob I got fired too he's exactly why we need to go on strike he can't treat us like this anymore and another one [Music] and another one hi I am very ugly but you should enjoy the movie anyway so how much that woman's face do you actually think was real hopefully none of it because if it was real then apparently we just saw Sponge Bob give a complete stranger third-degree burns now that's brutal not Monsieur Krabs poets so Sponge Bob rips off all his skin to reveal another identical looking spongebob underneath so this immediately raises two questions first why and second how can we know that this second version of spongebob isn't actually just another layer of skin what if he's wearing three of those costumes what if he's wearing four what if every single time we ever see spongebob he's actually just wearing this costume and in reality he doesn't even look like this at all I mean there could be anything underneath there what are you talking about puff you can't fool me you're Spongebob and that guy who likes the chili continuing with the theme of tearing someone's skin off this scene is actually pretty shocking if you're not familiar with the episode you might be wondering what could have possibly caused the peaceful mrs. puff to act in such a violent way well if we just rewind the clip a few seconds you'll see exactly why right that's why because SpongeBob and Patrick literally walked right past her moments ago wearing full body skin costumes of prison guards also how did spongebob and patrick change their voices so well this next example is one of my favorites partly because of how much it made me laugh as a kid and also partly because of how ridiculously absurd it all seems now I wonder what's in that secret formula clinics that nobody would notice when did this show become scooby-doo this is the end of the mystery if it isn't our old friend blue stone the break seriously this moment is so abrupt and absurd it leaves me dumbfounded I mean I love it I think it's hilarious but it leaves me dumbfounded let's consider the language he uses here in clinics that nobody would notice the head enhancement clinic really the head enhancement clinic wouldn't it have been easier for him to have just said the costume store or the mask shop no for some reason the writers decided that he would specifically reference something called the head enhancement clinic which is apparently a real place that exists somewhere in bikini bottom that's insane so you're telling me the body modification at a surgical level is so common for undersea creatures and SpongeBob SquarePants that they actually have a fully dedicated standalone medical clinic for handling it really but even then it's not a full body modification clinic it's specifically a head enhancement clinic so they only deal with heads what about all the other body parts doesn't this imply that there must be other clinics out there too which catered things like hands feet torsos etc it does and there's proof for that too just look at this guy again he has to have visited at least a few of those other clinics too because the color of his arms is totally different from the color of his actual skin they aren't even close so not only is the head fake but so is his entire body how many surgeries do you think this guy's had how many clinics do you think bikini bottom has weight did you catch that look at this nose shop do they seriously sell severed human noses I mean these things aren't even fish noses they clearly belong on a human being so why does this shop exist and notice how the show only stays on this image for a fraction of a second that's incredibly quick maybe they're flashing it by you so fast because if they linger on it and the audience really gets to think about what they're seeing people will start asking questions speaking of shops that sell body parts Sponge Bob was able to find a fake tongue that not only looks and feels real but is apparently functional enough to allow him to speak perfectly wallets in his mouth nice since high school squiddy don't be intimidated Squidward try to imagine here man in his underwear [Music] wait this is what squilliam looks like in his underwear he has a muscled human torso with fingers I was born with glass bones and paper skin every morning I break my legs and every afternoon I break my arms at night I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep Oh quick let's help him careful put him down gently poor poor man if there's anything anything we can do to help you there is one thing yes you can well imagine my medical bills are extremely high but luckily I'm able to keep myself alive by selling chocolate bars such nice boys it does my heart good to con a couple of class-a suckers like those two [Music] so here's my first question if he's gonna cover up his whole body for this bandage disguise why doesn't he just use actual bandages and just wrap that around his body that would look way more convincing and it would probably be a hell of a lot cheaper and easier to find but no for some reason this guy just happens to own a full-body suit that includes among other things functioning eyeballs so there are a lot of absurd moments in spongebob squarepants where the show seems to really take a serious dive off the deep end and usually those moments are hilarious but every fan will agree that one of the most absurd moments of all time has to be the final two minutes from I had an accident in season 3 towards the end of the episode sandy and Patrick hatched a ridiculous plan stupid somewhere else before to lure spongebob out of his house by getting Patrick to pose as a violent gorilla who's your friend but but you're supposed to be in the gorilla suit I'm in the gorilla suit I thought I was doing a pretty good job if you're Patrick [Music] [Music] man there are a lot more zipper suits in this show than I remember where's every buying them and how did the gorilla get one that looks exactly like Patrick I mean I can understand Patrick's gorilla suit because hey even people in humans decide you want to dress up like a gorilla sometimes there's nothing wrong with that but Patrick a full body costume of Patrick Starr why does this suit exist is there a store somewhere that sells exact replica skins of every single citizen of Bikini Bottom that anybody can rent out anytime they like honestly that would explain a lot Oh God and don't even get me started on the real gorilla I can't even imagine how they came up with this idea in the writers room they convinced a real person to put on a full-body gorilla suit and then shoot him in live-action with voiceover dub you have to be insane to even think of this stuff and the immediate logical question that comes up is actually exactly what spongebob says next you know what I don't understand though what what's a gorilla doing underwater in the first place I mean George they're Aguas let's get out of here [Music] [Applause] [Music] sidenote the voice for the gorilla in this episode is actually renowned voice actor Frank Welker if that name doesn't sound familiar don't worry you definitely know him in fact you've already heard his voice in this exact video that's right Fred well I'd say check on him if it were for the fact that we were warned to stay in our rooms Frank Welker has been the voice of Fred Jones in nearly every single animated version of scooby-doo since 1969 so the guy who is constantly pulling weird masks off of costume monsters is actually the voice of the costumed monster this might be the single greatest stroke of irony that has ever been written would it be too crazy to think that this might be the writers way of hinting at skin theory perhaps anyway forget the gorilla what is a horse doing underwater you don't be crazy what if the voice actor for George the horse was also somehow related to skin theory now that would be cool but there's no way that the writers would have added two insanely deep ironic references right wrong of course they did of course they did George the horse is voiced by none other than Dee Bradley Baker another renowned voice actor who is known for among other things portraying one particular role on American Dad hey I have an idea you could put my brain back into a human body and I could get a job and earn some money for the family Klaus the talking fish the talking fish are you kidding me first it's Fred and now it's Klaus in the same scene how many levels of irony were these writers on when they made this episode seriously this is the kind of thing you should point to when people say it's just a kids show there are no double meanings or deep messages these meta references are real and they were light years ahead of their time these writers might very well have been clinically insane they were geniuses and what happens when you combine genius writers with metatextual references and pure insanity skin theory your teachings have transformed besides man writes takes off his head and walks away okay I guess he could get a pass here because he's supposed to be some kind of mutated supervillain fine whatever sure but Patrick isn't my crown something patrick in this episode the entire upper section of his head is removed at least twice and then replaced with various non-biological pieces no problem compared to other kids shows these kinds of moments are unusually frequent [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] first of all that's a fantastic pun quality stuff second these moments are strange on their own but something else to notice is how everyone else in the show is just totally unfazed when they see this stuff happening like the - squids don't even react they just had the features of their faces sucked cleanly off and then reattached to somebody different is this just a regular occurrence for them is this just something people do to each other down here I mean if everyone is wearing skins and everybody knows that everybody else is wearing skins why not well it's all your fault it's all because of me I'm such a barnacle head poor mrs. puff I know I gotta get her out but to get her out of jail first we gotta get in jail how we gonna do that I can't be the only one who thought those dogs were a part of his body but apparently not maybe they have velcro on the back and if you can do that to one of his dots doesn't that mean he do it to all of them you mean I'm awake [Music] mr. Krabs rips his entire head in half and then reforms it multiple times just pause for a second and try to imagine this scene occurring and pretty much any other children's cartoon show from the era can you imagine how disgusting this would look if timmy turner just ripped his face off in the middle of an episode of Fairly OddParents that kind of imagery does not fly but spongebob gets away with it [Music] [Applause] [Music] I can explain this one obviously isn't that serious of an example but it does illustrate something weird the fish here seem to be constantly wearing full-body costumes underneath their regular clothes even when they're skiing that's a little weird all right mrs. puff it looks like this heats gone to your head if you're gonna talk to rocks I guess it's time for you to go on kitchen duty oh so there is a store somewhere in bikini bottom that lets people rent out various costumes which are modeled after other citizens where else could SpongeBob and Patrick I've gotten these rock costumes that perfectly match their individual skin tones this is probably also where that con man got his bandaged costume and where that gorilla got his Patrick costume so you've seen a lot of clips so far but if you still think that these are just totally normal everyday coincidences that you'd find in any old TV show what will it take what will it take to convince you that maybe something weird is going on here perhaps these small isolated examples just aren't enough and you're looking for something singular and concrete something solidly connected to the actual plot that would be nice but surely there aren't any examples of that right wrong now this is a top tier episode of Spongebob it's got some of the best one-liners and visual gags in the history of spongebob but it also has complicated and nuanced intellectual humor like as a side note this isn't the only time pinhead Patrick makes an appearance there's also this scene from the doodlebop episode [Music] okay I'm about to go on a tangent so let's bring it back on topic survival of the idiots there are a couple small instances of skin theory in this episode such as this and this but there are some big ones too the main conflict is pretty simple so unwelcome Patrick are trapped inside the tree dome during winter and they need to find a way to get warm now there are plenty of ways that they could have solved this problem well what did they end up doing that's right they decided to rip all of Sandy's fur off her body and wear it skin theory but wait there's more do you remember how the episode actually ends I'm talking about the final 10 seconds or so the very last joke of the episode true spongebob fans will remember this one [Music] she wears them she actually wears them that's wild why does this show have so many references to fish that are wearing other fish oh and that wasn't even the final example by the way not even close there are a bunch more and lucky for us I saved some of the best and most bizarre moments for last some people are even late on Sunday I don't think I mean to say anything about this I mean justjust look at it the more times you watch it the less sense it makes it says absolutely nothing to do with the plot and even when you consider it on its own it's not even really that humorous it's just weird it's just kind of there I mean I guess it's a little funny mainly because of how random it is but even then the show just kind of hits you with it out of nowhere and then quickly moves on to something else it doesn't get much more bizarre than that oh but it does it always does this whole episode is just weird all around I remember seeing it sometimes as a kid but way more rarely than the other episodes from Season one I imagine it had something to do with this hideous mess of Sponge Bob shaped like a snail yeah that snail monster is pretty disturbing but that's not even close to how disturbing this guy is I'd be shocked if you even remember him after all he only appeared for like 30 seconds in the middle of the episode supposedly he's a pet doctor that comes to SpongeBob's house to give Gary an injection of snail plasma so you might be asking what's so bad about that well see for yourself what the hell is this what is wrong with his arms is this actually how the animators chose to draw him I I swear I did not edit this his face is clearly purple and for the most part resembles a regular fish but for some reason his arms are brown and he has fingers why why did they do this there's just no logical reason that this particular fish should get drawn with fingers unless you consider skin theory of course in which case it makes perfect sense anyway there's also the question of his arms being a completely different color from his face I mean they're even close and I'm no professional animator but there's just no way that this can be chalked up to a simple coloring mistake he's either a purple fish who's wearing brown arm covers or he's a brown fish who's wearing a purple facemask but then again what if there was a third option what if then hear me out what if he isn't a fish at all we're gonna have to come back to this later but in the meantime we've still got one more example to go so at this point you've seen over two dozen clips from different episodes of Spongebob that span four whole seasons of the show no matter how skeptical you might be you can't deny that these references are unusually frequent way above the threshold for any other children's cartoon at the time there's only one more episode I want to look at before we go into the explanations behind skin theory and this one is dedicated to the hardest of hardcore skeptics out there you might be thinking these examples are weird but at the end of the day they're only individual moments and I still need something bigger to convince me so what would it take perhaps a full episode where the entire plot revolves or fish that are wearing skins maybe but then again there is no episode like that there's no way that the writers of such a beloved children's cartoon would allow something so devious and subversive to make it on TV right right wrong oh yes Muscle ball buff pants is another classic from the early days of season one and just by picturing the episode in your head you probably know what I'm about to say two words anchor arms they're giant inflatable skin like appendages that anyone can wear seriously it doesn't get any more black-and-white than that the whole episode literally revolves around Sponge Bob wearing skin and pretending to be something that he's not and the funny part is his trick actually works the other fish totally buy it as if these enormous laughably discolored arms are somehow realistic are they actually that dumb perhaps but what if they're actually aware that Sponge Bob is using false arms and there's not saying anything because it's so normal for people in this society to see other people dressed up in skin also how do incur arms grow hair and how do they become veiny notice how he never mentions the actual material that these things are made of so what are they made of what if these things are made of actual skin at this point I wouldn't even be surprised but wait let's go back to that television commercial there's something about it that might actually be more bizarre than anything you've seen thus far I'll play the whole thing again so watch carefully and see if you can find what I'm talking about are you too much of a whip to work out are you a weakling [Music] big deal for the ladies wow did you catch it right here who is this supposed to be exactly are you telling me that this shark used to look like this how there's so many things wrong with this transformation I could make an itemized list in fact I think I will number one his skin color inexplicably changed from dark green to light gray how would Hank her arms do that second his stature and size are completely different are you telling me that anchor arms straightened out his bad posture and added 50 pounds where did those pecs and those ABS come from are they fake - if they are why aren't they the same fleshy color as the anchor arms third his eyes seemed to have mysteriously shifted on to either side of his face and his vision is perfect now no need for glasses fourth why do his teeth look like they've been filed down - points fifth and this one really really freaks me out he has fingers all of a sudden where did these hands come from how much body modification did this guy have forget about the head enhancement clinic he must have visited a hundred different clinics to get all this surgery done maybe his entire body is some kind of anchor arms type suit okay almost done I promise there's only one more instance left on the list and it comes from the same episode muscle bob buff pants before the idea of anchor arms is even mentioned we see this well you're smelly all thanks to my state-of-the-art right set I don't want to disappoint you spongebob but you won't see any progress with the nose oh really that is you want arms well sandy has an incredibly muscular human arm there's no way you could tell me that came from a squirrel no shot that actually looks like it belongs to a bodybuilder so how did it get there well when you consider skin theory the explanation is actually pretty simple sandy didn't simply pull up the sleeve of her scuba suit she actually pulled up the sleeve of her squirrel costume sandy the squirrel isn't a squirrel at all after seeing everything you've just seen you probably have even more questions than when we began why are there so many instances of fish wearing the skins of other fish what are these skin costumes actually made of why does every one bikini bottom's seem perfectly okay with these bizarre moments how many of the fish are involved in this conspiracy and what did the fish actually look like underneath their hidden layers do the fish even exist at all and what kind of madman would write a children's TV show with so many disturbing undertones what does it all mean well skin theory is a work in progress so a lot of these questions are actually still being debated right now but let's talk about three different sub theories that can each explain skin theory in a different way you might find that some of these ideas actually answer more questions than you realize so why are the fish in bikini bottom constantly wearing costumes and pretending to be things that they're not maybe we can answer this question by looking inwards and thinking about the various reasons that people wear masks and dress up in human society well the most common reason nowadays is for entertainment purposes like putting on plays or for holiday traditions like trick-or-treating on Halloween but for most of human history this was not the case in ancient times and amongst native tribal communities masks and costumes have traditionally been worn for religious reasons now the exact reasons behind this are wildly diverse and specific to each culture but there are some common themes one of the most popular being to represent powerful gods or local deities whose spirits are channeled down to a physical location and communicated with in an attempt to gain favor note that these rituals are usually dedicated to specific spirits within a localized pantheon not just widespread deities like Buddha or Jesus and again there is a lot of variation here among many human civilizations but usually these worship deities are supernatural entities with specific geographic ties to a location who have specific days in the calendar dedicated to their worship and who possess significant powers to do either great good or great bad depending on what they're supposed to represent masks have also been used to symbolize deceased relatives allowing those in attendance to communicate with their loved ones from the afterlife and one more reason that early human culture used ritual costumes was to teach lessons and record history through choreographed reenactments there are countless examples of people in ancient Greek or Roman society who would completely change their appearance for these purposes sometimes transforming themselves into a different gender a different race or even a nonhuman animal so is it possible that the denizens of bikini bottom are actually engaged in a bunch of complex social rituals it's certainly possible but then again what kind of rituals are they performing this sub theory suggests not the deceased relatives approach or the teaching through history route but rather the practice of God worshiping and you must be thinking that's insane there are no gods in bikini bottom there isn't a single mention of religion or speed ality anywhere within the whole show and you'd almost be right almost enter the flying dutchman so what is the flying dutchman exactly let's listen to mr. krabs explain him in the season 1 episode scaredy-pants is the deep ok maybe just a little boy every year the flying dutchman descends and bikini bottom in a pirate ship just saying the flying dutchman swoops down and starts stealing he puts the word you can never get them ok so what I'm gathering here is that the flying dutchman is a supernatural entity specifically linked to Bikini Bottom who descends upon the town on a spiritually significant night and utilizes immense otherworldly power to steal the souls of innocent sea creatures very interesting so just for the sake of argument let's assume that the Flying Dutchman really is a localized demon spirit our next question would be how have human societies approached this problem in the past well there are definitely a lot of civilizations to draw from but one example can be found in Japanese culture where there are special ceremonies that date back centuries called oneö Shiki whose purpose is to drive out evil demons notice how the performers in this ceremony are wearing complex ritual costumes and masks that are meant to resemble demonic spirits rituals like this one were extremely common in many early civilizations throughout prehistory so why couldn't that be the case in bikini bottom and notice how multiple characters including SpongeBob and Squidward specifically choose to model their costumes after The Flying Dutchman himself the real Dutchman even says at one point that the reason he showed up that night was because SpongeBob's Dutchman costume was so terrible he felt offended it makes perfect sense that a supreme spiritual figure like him would be upset by his followers poor worship services in Greek mythology as well as many other cultures people would work tirelessly to worship their gods in the correct way fearing terrible retribution if their worship was deemed inadequate the Dutchman's anger could be a perfect example of that so how believable is the ritual aspect overall well it certainly adds an interesting new dimension to the mix and it's anthropological comparisons are fascinating but considered in the context of all those other examples it only seems to account for certain instances in very isolated moments so as a whole this just isn't my favorite sub 3 but it's also not the last mass psychogenic illness is defined as the rapid spread of illness signs and symptoms affecting members of a cohesive group originating from a nervous system disturbance whereby physical complaints that are exhibited unconsciously have no corresponding organic aetiology in simpler terms this just means that a large group of people goes completely insane at the same time in the same way and with no real physical explanation at face value this idea is pretty appealing because it recognizes the fact that the instances of skin theory are wildly diverse and instead of trying to find a single common thread that logically connects them together and explains why the fish are wearing each other's skins it provides this simple answer that they're just completely insane real-world examples of mass psychosis are pretty rare throughout history but there have been a few documented cases like one instance in 15th century France where convent full of nuns reportedly began to meow like cats and would not speak any actual words for several days there was also the Tanganyika laughing epidemic of 1969 where upwards of 1,000 school children began laughing uncontrollably which lasted for months in both instances no physical cause or logical reason never really presented itself so mass psychosis was used to explain the behavior is it possible that spongebob and his undersea friends have fallen victim to this strange and dangerous phenomenon well inexplicable bouts of total insanity have been a recurring theme throughout the show's history since the beginning chocolate chocolate [Applause] if the fish are this prone to complete psychotic breaks with reality why couldn't they have one that prompts them to wear costumes of each other but for the disease to spread to every other resident of Bikini Bottom they would probably need to have been a seriously traumatic event that acted as a catalyst so what could have possibly happened that would cause this maybe there was some kind of mutation that spread throughout the population a neurological disease which affects the mind could have come from any number of things perhaps an unknown parasite or an experiment gone horribly wrong then again they might also have been affected by severe pollution think about how destructive in industrial oil spill or radioactive waste can be to local sea life finally there's one more sub theory that needs to be discussed and it's probably the boldest of them all it's also the most comprehensive account for skin theory meaning that it can be used to explain almost every single instance of skin theory we've discussed so far and on top of that it can even be used to make sense of other background inconsistencies that have nothing to do with skin theory but have nonetheless plagued this show since episode 1 this is the costumed human hypothesis what if the sea creatures of Bikini Bottom aren't actually sea creatures at all what if they're just human beings in fish costumes I know that sounds crazy but don't worry cuz it gets even crazier you might be wondering if all the characters are actually human beings and costumes how can they breathe underwater well here comes the final piece of the puzzle they aren't underwater everything you see is a lie now if this is true it would completely revolutionize the way we look at SpongeBob SquarePants forever so let's review some evidence these are the specific moments which most strongly indicate that some kind of human being exists in bikini bottom but all the other clips we saw before are also compatible especially considering that we've already observed fish who are wearing multiple layers at the same time it's absolutely possible that any one of them could be doing this so let's break it down the costumed human hypothesis proposes that every character in SpongeBob SquarePants big and small are actually just human beings and costumes who refer to each other by made-up names and who act out rehearsed situations for the viewer to observe so they aren't actually encountering real problems they're just acting out situations identical to how human actors on a stage aren't actually dealing with the problems in the script it's their characters that are and that's why there are so many references to skin wearing and costumed fish but what about the claim that they aren't actually underwater it probably seems ridiculous at first to imagine all this action occurring on dry land but when you think about it closely that actually answers a ton of questions that have been plaguing viewers for years for instance how can there be fire under water this is a fun joke that the show likes to make and sometimes they're pretty self-aware usually turning it into a fourth wall break for comedic effect but at least it's warm around the fire and now that's definitely funny but isn't it easier to just consider that the fire exists because they're on dry land and here's a good one if bikini bottom is actually underwater why is everyone stuck to the ground have you ever noticed how nobody ever swims upward the ocean is a three-dimensional space and in the real world life exists on all levels it's not just limited to the seafloor this is actually a seriously troubling question to consider like why do spongebob characters act like gravity is even a factor at all the characters should just be able to swim up and down whenever they want to so why is everyone inexplicably confined to the ground again this is easily resolved if we consider that they're just people and costumes walking around on dry land let's keep going and we've probably all wondered about this one how can there be a beach under water this one completely defies logic and although there are some semi official explanations floating around out there these answers are problematic at best the most common explanation is that the water in goo lagoon is a different density than the water in Bikini Bottom so they separate well first of all this does absolutely nothing to address the hundreds of other instances in spongebob where liquid can be seen in glasses coming out of hoses and even in pools and even if goo lagoon is a different density the two bodies of water are far too separate and clear-cut to be existing in contact with one another there's just no good reason that explains why this Beach or any other liquids in Bikini Bottom can feasibly exist and look at this where did this river come from and wait what is that guy doing what is he fishing for he is a fish how do you make sense of this well consider this what if goo lagoon and all the other water you see in the show is made of real actual water and everything else is just air yet again this makes perfect sense one more to consider okay so the show is based around the idea of sentient sea creatures that understand language wear clothes and have created functional society obviously none of this exists in real life so the viewers are asked to suspend our disbelief for a bit and essentially just roll with it every time we watch and that's final there's nothing wrong with rolling with an unusual premise if it means you'll enjoy the show more but if we apply the costumed human hypothesis this suspension of disbelief is no longer even necessary there's no need to roll with it because the show isn't sign typically inaccurate anymore the fish have human characteristics because they are human beings and it's that simple their underwater environment doesn't obey the natural laws of the ocean because they aren't underwater honestly we could go on for hours about all the little inconsistencies that appear in this show everybody's noticed them just know that almost every logical problem you can find in SpongeBob SquarePants can be solved by applying some facet of skin theory anyway if the show is entirely comprised of human beings dressed up like fish they sure do a good job of hiding it right other than those few instances we discussed earlier you never actually see human beings or anything else that positively indicates human beings exist in this world right wrong there are actually two characters who have been sitting right under your nose the whole time and the fact that they even exist at all is a huge argument to support the costumed human hypothesis you have to know who I'm talking about mermaidman and barnacleboy how could we ever forget about these two they are literally human beings dressed up in costumes doesn't it strike you as a little coincidental that the only actual people we ever see in this show just happen to be wearing costumes I mean forget about all the subtle implications and the deep meditech xual hints the show is practically shoving the answer right in your face and daring you to connect the dots just think about it none of the other sea creatures ever question what two elderly human beings are doing way down here and bikini bottom they just roll with it also consider this you never see them without their costumes on just like how you never see any of the other characters without their fish costumes on Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are constantly playing their roles they're acting like something else they're pretending to be something else they are doing exactly what everyone else is doing and that's why nobody in Bikini Bottom tree stem any differently honestly mermaidman and barnacleboy might as well be the poster boys for skin theory you couldn't find better evidence if you tried so in conclusion mermaidman and barnacleboy aren't actually superheroes they're just regular people in costumes pretending to be superheroes spongebob Patrick Squidward and literally everyone else in Bikini Bottom aren't actually fish they're just regular people in costumes pretending to be fish and finally the entire undersea setting of SpongeBob SquarePants is an elaborate illusion and everything you see is actually occurring on dry land everything you know is a lie so those are the current competing sub theories the show also might be utilizing a mix of all three so it's not necessary for you to pick a favorite but after seeing this you're probably left with a very bizarre sense of confusion and a deep yearning for the answer to one simple question why why does this exist if skin theory is true why would the writers of a children's cartoon willingly choose to do this to their own show well I didn't create Spongebob so I can't personally answer that we can only interpret what we observe but we can always speculate and there's plenty to speculate about so let's take a step back from the show itself and talk about the real-world environment where it was born [Music] if you watch the show growing up you'd probably agree that the original four seasons of Spongebob were its best it would take a very long time and probably a whole new video to explain why those first few seasons were so good but most people agree that the humor and the dialogue undergoes a significant tonal shift sometime around season four some would argue that the changes had already begun by the time season four came out but for the most part these episodes are still pretty solid maybe not up to the incredible standards of the first three seasons but still not bad so what's so special about the first four seasons of Spongebob and why do almost all the instances of skin theory just happen to be found during the same four seasons when the show was at its critical peak to answer this we can only turn to one man him no not the pirate I'm talking about him this mouth and the man who this mouth belongs to Stephen Hillenburg Stephen Hillenburg was the man who created Spongebob Squarepants he was a longtime animator and cartoonist and before creating Spongebob sometime around 1997 he previously worked with Nickelodeon as a creative director for Rocko's Modern Life from 1993 to 1996 another show known for its absurd and edgy humor but in addition to being a celebrated cartoonist Hillenburg was also a teacher and a marine biologist who genuinely loved the ocean so after coming up with the idea for spongebob and pitching it to Nickelodeon he acted as head writer and executive producer on all sixty episodes from seasons 1 2 & 3 he also worked on the spongebob movie but then chose to depart from the show shortly afterwards in 2002 following this departure Hillenburg remained somewhat distant from the show letting it change and grow in different ways under the creative control of his friend Paul tibbitt but then in 2014 it was reported that Hillenburg would be returning to SpongeBob SquarePants in a creative role nearly a decade after leaving this actually ended up coming true and he directly worked on the production of SpongeBob's second feature-length movie sponge out of water the movie was received very well by critics and ultimately made many fans hopeful for what SpongeBob's future might hold meanwhile if we look at the timelines Hillenburg tenure in charge of spongebob lines up perfectly with the show's golden age of seasons one through three and it follows that his unique creative input might have been the secret ingredient for making SpongeBob's so good during those first few seasons coincidentally his departure from the show also marked a sharp decline in the kind of bizarre instances we've been discussing which all but stopped showing up after season four there may be occasional references to costumes and skins found throughout seasons 5 through 12 but these are usually far less complex and harder to find so with Stephen Hillenburg really responsible for the creation of skin theory and spongebob before can answer that we have to know was he even capable of devising such an elaborate and bizarre message absolutely just look at some of the traits that define SpongeBob's unique style of humor during those first few seasons the show obviously used a lot of very simple visual gags but there's also a lot of nuanced humor what he calls it and genuinely well-written dialogue homemade pie Sherlock guard oh these aren't homemade they were made in a factory a bomb factory they're bombs another treat that defined the show during those first few seasons was radical absurdity sometimes the humor would be pretty nonsensical but then other times the show would veer wildly off course into these unbelievable Kafka esque tangents of experimental filmmaking [Music] and lastly we all know about the hidden adult themes in spongebob examples of this can be seen through some pretty simple double meanings and offhand comments why else would we run around in colored undies I can think of three good reasons but it can also be seen through highly complex extended metaphors which can transform the entire plot of an episode one of the best examples of this can be seen in the season 1 episode karate choppers which on the surface appears to be a pretty innocent story of two friends who enjoy practicing martial arts but when you look at this episode a little closer it actually transforms into a highly provocative and explicit parable of lust and abstinence all this by simply substituting out a few words and recognizing that every reference to karate is actually a clear reference to sex yeah let that one sink in for a second but despite all this at the end of the day SpongeBob SquarePants was a kid show but the difference was Hillenburg didn't treat his audience like they were children he gave them complex jokes he gave them surreal truly absurd humor and he constantly pushed the envelope this man was never afraid to go out on a limb and if his jokes went right over the audience's head so what that makes it even funnier so could it be possible at Hillenburg and his team of writers intentionally created the complex hidden messages and references behind skin theory I can think of no better candidate in the world but unfortunately there will never be any hard answers to these questions in 2017 Hillenburg was diagnosed with ALS a neurological disease that affects motor function and muscular control the news came as a shock and he passed away shortly thereafter in November of 2018 the loss of Stephen Hillenburg was felt by millions of people across the world who had grown up with his work for many this show played a greater role than anything else towards developing their sense of humor into what it is today it gave us hilarious stories heartfelt moments and genuine happiness far more than a simple cable entertainment we could have ever expected Stephen Hillenburg was the man to thank for all of this and immediately the outpouring of support and praises for this wonderful man's life showed just how far-reaching and positive of an impact he truly had no matter how you judge a show SpongeBob SquarePants will always be remembered as one of the greatest television experiences that has ever been aired it's hilarious its quotable it's relatable it's emotional it's deep no cartoon has ever been able to bridge the gap between youth and adulthood quite like spongebob has and no show probably ever will again it's one of the only shows out there that's just as funny if not even funnier when you go back and re-watch it with age no Patrick mayonnaise is not an instrument even on the 10th the 20th and the hundredth viewing of these episodes it's still just as good as it was when we tuned in and saw premiere on Saturday morning but now the jokes that we never understood because we were too young suddenly becomes some of the greatest moments of all time the little details that we never even noticed before can change our perception of an entire episode and certain characters who we look down on or laughed at as children suddenly become relatable and endearing just like the location of Bikini Bottom somewhere below the waves off the Pacific coast the care and attention that went into this show runs incredibly deep a truly great show should never be pinned down by one official interpretation it should always be challenged reimagined and redefined skin theory is only one of the fantastic ways that we can look at spongebob so if you think that this whole theory is ridiculous or maybe if you find it just a bit too disturbing that's okay you're allowed to see the show however you want as long as this video starts a conversation or maybe even inspires some older fans to sit down and rewatch their favorite episodes then I consider that to be a huge success so what do you think could it really be possible and if Pandora's box has finally been opened on critical spongebob analysis what unbelievable Theory could come next but no matter what new evidence is discovered SpongeBob SquarePants will always be the greatest television show of our generation and nothing will ever change that [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] 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