MatPat from Film Theory analyzes the possibility of SpongeBob SquarePants being adopted due to his vastly different appearance from his parents, Harold and Margaret SquarePants. He examines the genetic principles of sea sponges, which can produce both male and female gametes, and applies Mendelian reproduction to the Bikini-Bottom-verse. Using Punnett squares, he calculates the probability of SpongeBob's traits, concluding that it's possible but highly unlikely (1 in 16) for Harold and Margaret to be his biological parents.
However, upon further examination of the SpongeBob family tree, MatPat discovers that sponge color and shape seem to be genetically linked, increasing the likelihood of Harold and Margaret being SpongeBob's parents to around 25%. He concludes that, despite initial appearances, basic genetic science suggests SpongeBob shares a genetic link to his parents, making it unlikely that he is adopted.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. SpongeBob's parents, Harold and Margaret Squarepants, were designed to resemble real-life sea sponges.
2. The show's creator, Stephen Hillenburg, is a marine biologist.
3. Sea sponges reproduce sexually, with offspring formed by the fusion of two different reproductive cells called gametes.
4. Sea sponges do not have male and female varieties, but can produce both types of gametes.
5. Sponges can be both mothers and fathers to different offspring.
6. Sponge larvae grow and develop outside and apart from their mothers after attaching to an underwater surface.
7. In the Bikini Bottom universe, sponges have two different alleles for body shape: "Square-Pantsness" and "Round-Pantsness".
8. The same principle applies to sponge color, with alleles for "Brown Seaspongy color" and "Bright Yellow".
9. The concept of dominant and recessive alleles can be used to explain how two round, brown parents could have a square, yellow child like SpongeBob.
10. According to a Punnett square, there are four possibilities for SpongeBob's parents' genetic combination, with SpongeBob being a rr (recessive) for both traits.
11. The odds of SpongeBob's parents having a child with two recessive traits are 1 in 16.
12. However, genetic mapping suggests that the traits of sponge color and sponge shape may be linked, making the odds of Harold and Margaret having a child like SpongeBob closer to 25%.
13. SpongeBob's family tree shows a 50/50 split between round and square offspring, and between brown and yellow offspring.
14. Grandpa Squarepants is a yellow square, and Grandma Squarepants is a round brown sponge.
15. Sponge color and sponge shape seem to be inherited together, with no instances of a round yellow sponge or a square brown sponge in the show.