These theories were originally featured on whatculture.com, in an article written by Freddie Rochez.
1. Spongebob Squarepants
Spongebob Squarepants is undoubtedly one of the weirder kids shows in existence. A sponge, living in a pineapple under the sea, with a cast of random weird friends. But there's an even weirder explanation for this. The show is actually a warning of the dangers of nuclear testing. It was created by a former marine biologist who used this as a way to spread his message.
Here's why...
Bikini Bottom's name comes from the name of a site of nuclear arms tests in the 1940s and 50s called Bikini Atoll. Since the show is located under Bikini Atoll, it is called Bikini Bottom. Though this was initially just speculation, it was confirmed in the SpongeBob movie when David Hasellhof returned Spongebob and Patrick to Bikini Bottom and what was in the background? You guessed it: Bikini Atoll.
This means that the entire odd and mutated cast is a result of the radiation that has seeped into the surrounding environment, and it explains several mysteries of the show. Pineapple that is able to grow under water? Radiation. Sentient sponge? Radiation. Sandy's spacesuit is even a hazmat suit left over from nuclear experiments on land. The Crusty Crab's burgers are all cooked over radioactive material, explaining how they are able to cook underwater. And Mr Crabs daughter is a whale because ah okay we're not sure about that one either.
Continue to the next page for a theory about The Flinstones!
2. The Flinstones
The Flinstones is based on the Modern West. References to modern technology, culture, and religion exist in everything they do, even their basic family structures. Ever wonder why? Well, one theory holds that this is because citizens of Bedrock are actually members of a distant future society. All of Western Society as we currently know it has collapsed after a series of nuclear disasters, and generations later, the survivors use the scarce resources they have left to model their civilization after what they remember of the 20th century.
A second, but related theory holds that the futuristic Jetsons exist in the same world. Society has divided into two groups - one that live in an ultra-advanced society while the others live on the fringes, void of technology,
Continue to the next page for a weird theory about The Care Bears.
3. The Care Bears
The Care Bears are known as the lovable, cuddly bears full of love and wonder. But theory has it that these bears are actually representations of Voodoo in the United States!
Here's how...
The name Care Bears is based on Carefours, a district of Port au Prince considered to be the capital of the Voodoo world. The bear's home, the cloud city of Care-a-Lot, is an idealized representation of the holy city of the Loa, the gods of the Voodoo religion.
There is a lot of similarity in the language used in the show and the religion. For example, the Care Bears constantly want to "Share until you care," while the Loa are believed to share (possess) the bodies of their worshipers. The Care Bears are identified as friends of children around the world, just as the Voodoo Loa are described as friendly spirits, or, simply, their friends. Lastly, the symbols on the Care Bear's stomachs are theorized to represent the sigils associated with the Loa.
Continue to the next page for a theory about Winnie The Pooh!
4. Winnie The Pooh
It is well known that Eeyore, of Winnie The Pooh, was clinically depressed. But not much attention has been given to the rest of the cast. It is theorized that actually, the entire group of friends are representations of mental disorders. It was even written about in an article by the Canadian Medical Association. Piglet has Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Owl is Dyslexic, and Tigger has ADHD. Pooh has a whole gamut: ADHD, OCD, and Impulsive tendencies.
Lastly, we come to our dear Christopher Robin, the only human in our cast. Mr. Robin? Schizophrenic. The other characters are, after all, manifestations of his own imagination. With their myriad of mental issues, the different animals represent Christopher's own struggles as a child learning to function in society and interact with the world.
Continue to the last page for a theory about The Rugrats!
5. The Rugrats
This theory posits that the Rugrats aren't real. Well, obviously they're not real, they're cartoons, but within the context of the show, these characters are all products of Angelica's imagination. Angelica is a sad, lonely little girl with no friends and parents that are too focused on their careers to give them the attention she needs. She compensated for this by creating a series of younger friends that she could boss around, which could give her a sense of control in her life.
Even more disturbing, the theory says that Angelica based these characters on the dead children of her parents' childless friends. Chuckie died in the same crash that killed this mother, explaining why Chaz is a nervous wreck. Tommy was a stillborn, which is why Stu is constantly in the basement making toys for the son who never had a chance to live. The twins Lil and Phil were actually one baby. Their parents had an abortion, or possibly a miscarriage and, because Angelica didnt know the babys gender, decided to create one of each.
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Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.