‘Real-life’ SpongeBob and Patr

Image: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Twitter

‘Real-life’ SpongeBob and Patrick Star spotted in Atlantic Ocean [photos]

Divers recently spotted a yellow sea sponge and a pink sea star – doppelgängers for SpongeBob and Patrick Star in the Atlantic Ocean.

‘Real-life’ SpongeBob and Patr

Image: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration /Twitter

Marine scientists may have discovered the hidden location of SpongeBob SquarePants and his best friend, Patrick Star.

Real-life SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star.

According to the New York Post, the pair was seemingly spotted in ‘Bikini Bottom’ a few miles off the coast of New York.

The publication reports that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientist Christopher Mah shared the news on Twitter, saying that he would normally avoid these references, “but WOW. REAL LIFE SpongeBob and Patrick!”

It turns out a team of researchers from NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer ship found the aquatic allies – a Hertwigia sponge and Chondraster starfish — while surveying the seamount aboard remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Talking to Insider, Mah said of the serendipitous discovery, “‘I thought it would be funny to make the comparison, which for once was actually kind of comparable to the iconic images/colours of the cartoon characters.”

Iconic images of cartoon characters

He did, however, note that some comparisons to cartoon characters are not always correct.

“As a biologist who specialises in sea stars, most depictions of Patrick and Spongebob are incorrect,” he added. But, that did not stop social media users from taking joy in the discovery and seeing their favourite cartoon characters come to life.

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“You just know they were cutting it up right before the camera came… they were like FREEZE,” said one fan. “The Netflix adaptation looks great!” joked another.

“It‘s real! The best friendship in the world,” said another. “Even the colours matched up. Amazing!”

Others knew the show’s creator who passed away in 2018, Stephen Hillenburg, would have enjoyed seeing the photo. He has been praised for the Nickelodeon TV programme which gained huge popularity with both children and adults over its nearly 20-year run.

Others simply had Photoshop do all the talking: