About

Squam is a series of Spunch Bob memes using an image of SpongeBob SquarePants facing forward and yelling with his mouth wide open, his body transformed into a sharp square, captioned "SQUAM." The original meme was posted to iFunny in October 2020 and became increasingly popularized over the following years, inspiring new variations on the meme.

Origin

In one scene in the March 22nd, 2002 episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, "SpongeGuard on Duty," SpongeBob wonders what the worst that could possibly happen might be if he was left to lifeguard on his own for an extended period of time, imagining all the fish in the water dying. The thought makes SpongeBob scream, his body shifting into a perfect square as he does (shown below).

On October 5th, 2020, iFunny^[1] user Moans_and_Groans posted a demotivational poster meme using the image of SpongeBob screaming captioned "SQUAM," a sound-effect of someone yelling what sounds like "Squam!" playing over the meme, garnering over 60 smiles in four years (shown below). This is the earliest known version of the meme.

Spread

The meme gained viral spread over the following years. On October 13th, 2020, YouTuber^[2] Scrambled _ posted a recreation of the iFunny post in which "SAIL" plays, followed by the yell of "squam," garnering over 80,000 views in four years (shown below). On May 28th, 2021, u/TheOnlyShyG reposted the video to /r/Spunchbob,^[3] garnering over 1,400 upvotes in three years.

On March 30th, 2024, X^[4] user @MDTravisYT posted an edited SpongeBob image using an image of SpongeBob with his mouth wide open in a similar fashion from the episode "Squeaky Boots" in front of a kitchen fire, writing, "what an awesome cel," garnering over 11,000 likes in a day. That day, X^[5] user @ArtofSpongebob quote-reposted it, writing, "It’s Squam," garnering over 1,400 likes in a day (shown below).

Various Examples

pic.twitter.com/dkZu10PXmb

— Perfectly Paused SpongeBob Frames (@PausedSponge) March 31, 2024

Search Interest

External References