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— Patrick Star, "The Secret Box"
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Patrick's secret box is a box owned by Patrick Star. It contains a secret string to pull with an embarrassing snapshot of SpongeBob and is the main plot element of the episode "The Secret Box." It also makes a cameo in "Lost and Found."
Role in series[]
"The Secret Box"[]
SpongeBob wants to look inside, but Patrick says if he does, it would ruin their friendship forever. SpongeBob thinks Patrick's box possibly contains stolen diamonds, severed heads, an albino jellyfish, or an embarrassing photo of him from the Christmas party.
SpongeBob becomes so desperate to see what is inside that he decides to break into Patrick's rock while he is sleeping and take a look. When SpongeBob looks inside the box, he realizes it only has a piece of string, but once he is out of sight, he does not know when it's really pulled, the string opens a secret compartment inside the box, revealing the actual item inside, that was indeed an embarrassing picture of SpongeBob at the Christmas party, although it is not seen.
"Lost and Found"[]
It can be seen stacked on the shelves of the Lost and Found among many other episodic objects.
Trivia[]
- According to an interview with Stephen Hillenburg found here, the idea for the secret box came from this:
- The idea came to Derek Drymon because he, too, had a secret box as a child. "He started telling us about it. We wanted to make fun of him and use it."
- The secret box is also mentioned in the song "Under My Rock," with the lyric "I got a welcome mat, and dirty socks, a sink, a table, and a secret box."
Patrick pulling SpongeBob's tongue, like he would with the string.
- The photo can only be seen if one pulls the string in the secret box releasing the secret compartment where the photo is found.
- When Patrick opens the secret box, he does not pull the string opening the secret compartment; he just looks inside the box and laughs.
- He might've done this on purpose to deceive SpongeBob into not learning the real secret.
- The function of the string is foreshadowed when SpongeBob is held by Patrick when he sleeps; Patrick pulls on SpongeBob's tongue while muttering about the secret box, hinting that the string has to be pulled to reveal the secret compartment.