Sandy VS Alaskan Bull Worm

About

Sandy VS Alaskan Bull Worm is an object labeling meme depicting animated characters Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob from the Nickelodeon TV show SpongeBob Squarepants attempting to subdue a massive worm. The format is typically used to show how someone underestimates something they think is the biggest threat, only to realize it was just the beginning.

Origin

The original clip that the meme is pulled from is seen during season two, episode 40, released on October 12th, 2001, specifically the scene where the show’s protagonists encounter the Alaskan Bull Worm. During the scene (featured below), Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob locate what they think is the worm’s lair, but as Sandy wrestles with it and ties it into a knot, SpongeBob cowers behind a rock and tells her it was merely the worm’s tongue.

The exact origin of the meme is unknown, but it is seen being used as early as 2016. One such example comes from a post by Redditor^[1] Deathstroke317 on May 26th, 2016, posted to the r/BlackPeopleTwitter sub. The format uses the image as a reaction (seen below) in a Twitter screenshot, receiving over 1,200 upvotes.

Spread

On June 5th, 2017, another variant was posted to 4chan^[2] by an anonymous user (shown below) in a thread where the worm was photoshopped to be an “Italian bull worm” by adding Mario’s hat, mustache and a mushroom.

Redditor^[3] matthewcrash112 posted a reaction image using the scene on September 20th, 2017, to the r/BikiniBottomTwitter sub. The post (seen below) received over 14,100 upvotes and 98 comments.

In 2020, the format evolved into a four-panel, object-labeling version and was used by several Redditors. On March 27th, 2020, Redditor^[4] LilSmore posted a request to the r/MemeTemplatesOfficial sub asking for the blank version, receiving nearly 11,000 upvotes and helping to spread the template.

On the r/PresidentialRaceMemes sub, Redditor^[5] Leaf-Currency uploaded a meme on March 28th, 2020, also using the updated format. The post (shown below) was upvoted over 26,200 times, commented on 2,400 times and gifted a Reddit gold award.

Redditor^[6] tstols posted another example referencing the April 2020 Disasters theme on March 31st, 2020, to the r/dankmemes sub. The post (seen below) received over 12,400 upvotes and 172 comments.

Various Examples

Templates

Search Interest

External References