[music playing]
On the evening of October 12th, 2001,
the small Pacific town of Bikini Bottom welcomed
its newest resident.
However, this new neighbor wasn't just any fish.
It was big wiggly and it ate everything.
This is the story of the Alaskan bull worm.
[music playing]
Scientific name Megascolides Alaskus,
though commonly referred to as the Alaskan bull worm,
is among the largest worm species in the world.
While the Megascolides Alaskus is generally considered
to be an herbivore, there are some accounts
that the bull worm has a taste...
for butt.
But after that fateful night
when the Alaskan bull worm found itself in Bikini Bottom,
the residents woke up to a town nearly destroyed.
And convened at the local dining establishment,
the Krusty Krab, to find a solution,
[Mr. Krab] I got it! Let's all buy a Krabby Patty!
[booing]
Tensions were rising, many fish still in disbelief
of the destructive power of the Alaskan bull worm.
But make no mistake,
this worm was big... scary... and pink.
Ultimately two voices rose above the rest with solutions.
Patrick Star, who believed the residents
of Bikini Bottom...
[Patrick] Should take Bikini Bottom and push it
somewhere else!
And Sandy Cheeks who vowed to go after the worm herself
following the loss of her beloved tail.
[Sandy] I am gonna get back what's mine.
The two factions that formed
around these two warring ideologies were relentless.
But nevertheless, they persisted.
As Sandy Cheeks embarked on her expedition to confront
the Alaskan bull worm, she was met
with fierce resistance by SpongeBob SquarePants.
The local fry cook, and jellyfishing teacher claimd
to have seen the power wielded by the worm.
He tried to protect his friend
from meeting a similar fate to his pineapple home,
which was destroyed the night before.
[SpongeBob] Sandy, no! I can't let you!
I'm not going to let you get killed!
If you find him, you'll get eaten for sure!
Some strategies Mr. SquarePants attempted included bribery
with ice cream, impersonating Miss Cheek's father...
[SpongeBob] Sandy, this is your pappy speaking.
And I forbid you to go after this worm.
Y'all come back here, young lady.
And attempting to gaslight Sany into believing a string
and paper clip from his pocket were Sandy's tail.
Sandy's tail was not a string and paper clip.
Needless to say, SpongeBob's attempt
at stopping Sandy's rampage were futile.
As the sea squirrel and karate master found
the cave the bull worm called home
and quickly found her revenge. Following a riveting fight
between the worm and the squirrel
the day seemed done as Sandy had defeated
the once monstrous Alaskan bull worm.
There was just one problem.
Sandy had not fought the Alaskan bull worm.
You see, the Megascolides Alaskus
is not just the largest worm species in the world.
The Megascolides Alaskus is so large
that when resting its open mouth
can easily be mistaken for a cave.
A cave exactly like the one Sandy Cheeks thought
she had defeated the worm inside of.
But instead all she did was walk herself right inside
the mouth of the beast
that nearly consumed Bikini Bottom.
But not only did Sandy survive her encounter
with the Alaskan bull worm, but she had a lassoed
the giant worm and was riding it off
into the sunset far, far away from the town of Bikini Bottom.
Meanwhile, Patrick and the other residents
of Bikini Bottom were hard at work
pushing the town somewhere els.
[Patrick] Push!
[all] Push!
Somewhere out of harm's way that the worm could never reac.
Somewhere like a distant ravine far from the Alaskan bull worm.
[all] Hooray!
A ravine that, as luck would have it,
was the exact same ravine
that Sandy Cheeks was riding the worm towards
at that very moment.
Ultimately, as is often the cae throughout history,
Bikini Bottom's attempt
at protecting their beloved ton is what led to its destruction.
But a town isn't defined by its tragedy.
No, a town is defined by the way they respond to it.
Though much of Bikini Bottom was destroyed in a ravine
that day, like a bubble rising from the depths,
the people of Bikini Bottom rebuilt.
And Sandy Cheeks even tamed the Alaskan bull worm
and trained it as a pet.
A pet that perhaps serves as a lesson for us all.
Because, as easy as it is to fear the unknown,
history has taught us that befriending
the unknown can prevent a lot of destruction.