History YMMV / SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E4NastyPattyIdiotBox

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Mr. Krabs is shown to be willing to serve a man a "nasty patty" that would realistically give him a bad case of food poisoning at the very least. However, this is meant to be non-standard behavior from him: it was prompted by a mistaken belief that he was a con artist posing as a health inspector to trick restaurants into giving him free food, and he's almost immediately remorseful on seeing what he thinks are the results of his handiwork. Later episodes would have him indulge in cruelty that was just as bad or even worse (such as when he psychologically tortures a business rival with the ''heavily'' implied intent of driving him to insanity or even suicide) with far less (real or perceived) provocation and absolutely no regret beyond fear of potential negative consequences for him.

** When taking a sombrero out of a hat box, Squidward questions why he hasn't worn it yet. [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E17 32 episodes later]], and he ''would'' wear a sombrero, albeit getting mauled by a sea bear in the process.

** The word "imagination" being followed by a rainbow will sound familiar to [[Series/ResshaSentaiToqger a group of Japanese railway enthusiasts.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: As it's left unexplained as to how [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick were making realistic sound effects in the box, it's entirely possible that Squidward did have an imagination - and all the sounds were his imagination playing tricks on him.

* HilariousInHindsight

** Squidward wants to be taken to robot pirate island. Eight months after this episode aired, [[WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet Disney did just that]].

** "I couldn't afford a present this year, so I got you this box."[[labelnote:explanation]]This meme is quite popular with young adults who often have financial difficulties with buying gifts for their family and loved ones during the holiday season (or have a good sense of humor) leading to them using this joke as a substitute.[[/labelnote]]

!!Nasty Patty

--->It doesn't seem right... '''''but it feels so good!'''''

!!Idiot Box

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The basic premise alone is pretty dark for an episode that premiered back when the show was rated TV-Y, but the episode is so full of hilarious black comedy that it rides to the line and back.

* HarsherInHindsight: During the realistic rocket launch sequence, a voice can be heard saying "Engines throttling down at 94%". This is the voice of Steve Nesbitt, public affairs officer for NASA during the 1980s. This becomes less funny when you realize this bit came from the launch of STS-51L... A.K.A. the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster, in which all seven aboard (including a teacher) were killed when a malfunction with one of the solid rocket boosters tore the spacecraft to shreds and the still-intact crew cabin impacted the ocean at 200 MPH, killing all aboard instantly. Even worse? This episode aired just a year before the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated while re-entering Earth's atmosphere, also killing everyone on-board.