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Bad Astronomy
« Can I see more stars from space?
Creationists fail again: taken for granite »

Planktondolia

So I’m making dinner the other day — hot dogs on the grill. Yeah, I’m just that kind of house husband.

So I pull out the buns, lay them out for the three of us, and what do I see?

Plankton hot dog buns

Look carefully… over on the bun on the right… could it be?

Yes! It’s Plankton!

Plankton in a hot dog bun

And there I was thinking these were going to be regular old (well, low-fat) hot dogs. Obviously, they were really crabby patties.

And FWIW, I wound up eating the bun with Mr. Krabs’ nemesis on it. Hmmmm, monomaniacal cyclopic copepod goodness.

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July 21st, 2008 10:30 AM by Phil Plait in Humor, Pareidolia, Pretty pictures | 37 comments | RSS feed | Trackback >

37 Responses to “Planktondolia”

  1. 1.   madge Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 10:40 am

    Time for the Bad Astronomer to go into a quiet room and get a grip on himself. That is so obvoiusly a sign from “Frank” (Donnie Darko) “Wanna get a beer”?

  2. 2.   Joe Meils Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 10:40 am

    What? You didn’t try to sell it on ebay to people who see Spongebob Squarepants as a religious figure?

  3. 3.   Jason Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 10:44 am

    Looks like Arthur from The Tick to me. Or maybe Jesus.

  4. 4.   Dave Mosher Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 10:56 am

    It’s good to know I’m not the only adult who still watches cartoons.

  5. 5.   J_w23 Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 10:58 am

    Hey Phil, let’s put up a photoshop contest, puttin all of our weirdest cartoon figures on those good old buns is fun!

  6. 6.   No One Of Consequence Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 10:59 am

    “Sponge Bob Buns” Amazing. But isn’t that Squidward on the left most bun?

  7. 7.   Elf Eye Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:02 am

    It’s a frackin’ hotdog bun!

  8. 8.   Ala'a Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:04 am

    To me it looks like the Yves Saint Laurent logo:
    http://www.ysl.com/dispatch-images/ysl.gif

  9. 9.   Andy Beaton Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:04 am

    If they were really Krabby Patties, they wouldn’t have Plankton on them. The presence of Plankton indicates that they are an inferior imitation, probably poisonous, possibly deadly.

  10. 10.   Viewer 3 Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:15 am

    By “grill” I assume you mean your George Foreman grill, not an actual manly grill.

  11. 11.   gojim Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:15 am

    F is for fire that burns down the whole town
    U is for uranium bomb
    N is for no survivors when you….

  12. 12.   ABR. Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:26 am

    “If they were really Krabby Patties, they wouldn’t have Plankton on them. The presence of Plankton indicates that they are an inferior imitation, probably poisonous, possibly deadly.”

    I agree. Does this mean that the BA gets his buns from the Chum Bucket?

  13. 13.   quantum_flux Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:29 am

    Gross! I think you are delusional there, plankton don’t grow on hotdog buns, they require seawater or pondscum.

  14. 14.   Old Geezer Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:31 am

    It’s obviously Humpty Dumpty wearing a rabbit ears antenna (before the fall).

  15. 15.   Phil Plait Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:32 am

    Wow, that does look a bit like Squidward on the left one. How’d I miss that?

  16. 16.   Ken B. Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 11:46 am

    :BA

    Wow, that does look a bit like Squidward on the left one. How’d I miss that?

    Too bad you didn’t take a picture of the other side of the buns. I bet you would have found Patrick on the middle one. But, we’ll never know now.

  17. 17.   The Alpha Centaurian Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 12:05 pm

    So SpongeBob is in cahoots with the bun people… I knew it!

  18. 18.   Truenorth Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    well that’s what you get for buying your buns from the Chum Bucket

  19. 19.   PG Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 12:32 pm

    I am saddened by how much I can see what you mean…. Not too much Nickelodeon playing at my house, either. I kind of see Aang inside his bubble of air, shooting fire in four directions.

  20. 20.   dusty59 Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 12:58 pm

    I, for one, welcome our new plankton overlords.

  21. 21.   norm Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm

    Additional kudos for properly identifying Plankton as a copepod. Nicely done.

  22. 22.   Michael L Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 1:02 pm

    “Who lives in a Pineapple under the sea…
    Spongephil Starrypants”

  23. 23.   Tyler Durden Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    When I saw it I thought it looked like the sticker people put on their cars of a little dude peeing on a Ford/Chevy/whatever. Because of the crease in the bun strategically placed.

  24. 24.   Davidlpf Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    I think the BA should change from gas to some other kind of grill.

  25. 25.   Erin O'Brien Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    Daphne of Scooby Doo fame?

    ZOINKS!

  26. 26.   CanadianLeigh Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    And all this time all I’ve checked for is the green weener. I must have eaten an awfull lot of cartoon ideas. I’m off to the garden with the camera, who knows what imaginary friends are awaiting me.

  27. 27.   Christopher Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    You could retire on what that would fetch on ebay!

  28. 28.   Randy A. Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 5:35 pm

    BA: When you said “monomaniacal cyclopic copecod goodness” did you mean “copepod” rather than “copecod”? Copepods are fascinating creatures. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copepod for an introduction.

  29. 29.   Phil Plait Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 5:54 pm

    oops! That was a typo. Fixed, thanks!

  30. 30.   unthinkableMayhem Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    Tyler Durden – That’s what I thought too. Or was that just me thinking I was you thinking that?

  31. 31.   Chip Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 8:39 pm

    Yes but did you know that hot dog buns, with practice, could stand on their ends during the spring equinox?

  32. 32.   Drdale Says:
    July 21st, 2008 at 9:24 pm

    I think it looks like Leonardo Da Vinci

  33. 33.   Pop Says:
    July 22nd, 2008 at 7:37 am

    Here’s one for the creationist to explain… how do they (denizens of the deep) manage to splash water in Goo Lagoon since it’s all at the bottom of the sea? And, where does Sandy the Squirrel get her air? Do Scriptures even cover this? BTW, I know Scriptures don’t address many of the question really important in life.

  34. 34.   Ken B. Says:
    July 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 am

    Pop:

    BTW, I know Scriptures don’t address many of the question really important in life.

    As anyone who has seen The Simpsons Movie could have told you.

  35. 35.   American Voyager Says:
    July 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 am

    I don’t know Phil. I think you are seeing things. If you look carefully at the center, there is obviously a globe of Earth showing the American continents. Now, all that other stuff on top and under the globe looks similar to that sword you used to see going through Earth in the Star Trek episode, Mirror Mirror. That’s what it is. You have a bun from the alternate universe, accidentally sent back in time by a time warp that Kirk messed up again. Better watch out. The bearded Spock will not be happy when he learns you ate his Earth food. LOL

  36. 36.   Gary C. Says:
    July 22nd, 2008 at 9:44 am

    obviously FSM

  37. 37.   Arnaud Says:
    July 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 am

    Yes but… can you beat that?

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