The Internet Pays Tribute to Stephen Hillenburg

SpongeBob SquarePants, particularly its legendary first three seasons, easily ranks among the best children's entertainment of all time. For that, we have Stephen Hillenburg to thank. The show's creator helped shape the lives and senses of humor for an entire generation with his deceptively simple show about an enthusiastic sponge, his dimwitted but goodhearted starfish friend, his ornery octopus neighbor, his penny-pinching crab boss, and a host of other memorable characters operating in Bikini Bottom. After his passing yesterday at the age of 57 due to complications with ALS, internet users poured out their affection for the man who created a legacy that is felt to this very day, nearly twenty years after the first episode of SpongeBob.