The Laugh That Never Died

Before he created SpongeBob SquarePants, Stephen Hillenburg was a marine biologist who loved the ocean’s mysteries. But near Bikini Atoll—the site of 23 nuclear tests—divers found a boy’s skeleton fused to a sea sponge, still laughing underwater. Years later, that same laugh resurfaced in a cartoon loved by millions. Maybe it was never just a voice.

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