SpongeBob SquarePants first aired on Nickelodeon in 1999, and the character’s distinctive laugh became one of the show’s most recognisable running sounds over its long run. Clips of the laugh were later lifted for YouTube compilations, meme edits and soundboards, where it became shorthand for childlike amusement at something ridiculous. Its popularity has lasted because the sound needs no context: even a few seconds instantly suggest SpongeBob’s world and a joke that is meant to be taken lightly rather than seriously.