Encyclopedia SpongeBobia

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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
Encyclopedia SpongeBobia
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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia

Mad Snail Disease is a mythological disease/virus that was believed that snails could be afflicted with. It appears in the episode "Once Bitten" and the books Mistaken Identity and Attack of the Zombies!

History[]

Patrick explains to Squidward about its supposed existence before he and everyone else are informed by Dr. Gill Gilliam that it is a myth. The virus causes massive panic within Bikini Bottom, as it is feared that a bloodborne and later an airborne outbreak had started in the town. MSD was believed to be a highly contagious virus that caused a bloodthirsty rage in snails and zombie-like symptoms in fish and other creatures. This leads to mass hysteria and destruction throughout the town as residents were "infected" and turned into "zombies."

The "Outbreak"[]

Squidward gets bitten by Gary and "infected" with Mad Snail Disease. When Patrick sees Squidward getting bitten by Gary, he tells Squidward that Gary has "Mad Snail Disease." SpongeBob tries to take Gary to Snail Care, but Gary escapes and bites nearly every Bikini Bottomite, supposedly starting a rage-filled outbreak of MSD.

When the Bikini Bottom News goes on as people are panicking after revealing that they were bitten, a news report comes in that a snail is causing terror across town as the contagious Mad Snail Disease spreads rapidly. The virus' effects on the body show that the germs can enter where the bite radius is located, and then it will increase until the entire host body is full of Mad Snail Disease. Perch Perkins makes his first appearance in the TV series, meaning it's his second appearance after The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. He interviews the first victim, Squidward. He reports that he has developed symptoms such as a sore throat, rash, ticklish rib cage, and others. Incidental 105 comes in complaining that he feels off-balance. The co-reporter ends up stating he has a ticklish rib cage as well, which reveals the viral outbreak has become airborne. This sends the three of them in panic, the reporter is now terrified and states that the whole city is doomed to an imminent demise. This has sent everyone in even more panic, and while they are evacuating, SpongeBob ends up seeing the whole town already devastated. He spots patient zero, now a zombie, and some victims that were earlier revealed to be infected try to corner him, sending him into panic.

As the last "survivors" of the "outbreak" watch in horror as the raging Gary bites SpongeBob, supposedly infecting him, Dr. Gill Gilliam arrives and tells the Bikini Bottomites that Mad Snail Disease is just an old urban legend and does not exist. He reveals that the zombie outbreak was caused by mass hysteria, and pain and irritation simply caused Gary's rabies-like symptoms from a splinter in his foot from Squidward's anti-snail defense. Gary was not infected, and he did not start an outbreak of anything except for mass hysteria. The only thing inflicting Gary was Grouchy Snailitis.

Just as the "infected" broke into the fortified Krusty Krab, Squidward continues to groan like a zombie, albeit admitting he was not, and that he was groaning because he had to go to work.

Symptoms[]

  • Ticklish ribs
  • Loss of balance
  • Bloodshot eyes
  • Sore throat
  • Messy pants
  • Severely untrimmed toenails
  • Large rash
  • Flesh-craving zombification
  • It appears to cause symptoms similar to rabies. However, this seems to be exclusive to snails such as Gary, who was the source of the "outbreak."

Trivia[]

  • Mad Snail Disease is a parody of Mad Cow Disease.
  • Foreshadowing, one can tell that mad snail disease was a myth as, for example, Patrick tickled Squidward's rib making him laugh.
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