By now, we've all realized that the people behind kids' shows like to slip in an adult joke or two. And when you watch them back now, you scream as you realize exactly what those jokes were — because how did they get greenlit for TV?
Well, Redditor u/pswii360i recently asked, "What's your 'I can't believe they got away with this in a kid show' moment?"
And they got some very interesting responses. (While I remember some of these, let me tell you, I gasped at others.) So without further ado, here are some of the best ones:
1.When, in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Hugh said, "Once when I was seven, I sat on a banana. And, of course, that changed my life..."
2.That time a female biker gang, the Buffalo Gals, broke into Cow and Chicken's house and started "munching" on the carpet in Cow and Chicken.
3.In SpongeBob Squarepants, when SpongeBob held out two bars of soap to Gary, winked, and said, "Don't drop them!"
4.Or when SpongeBob, Patrick, and Mr. Krabs went on a panty-raid (and it turned out they broke into Mr. Krabs' mother's house).
5.The episode of Hey Arnold! when Helga sat in her closet, where she had built a shrine of Arnold, and wrote a poem about him that included the line, "Arnold, you make my girlhood tremble."
6.In Animaniacs, when Yakko told Dot to dust for prints, she returned with Prince, saying, "I found Prince!" to which Yakko wriggled his fingers and said, "No, no, no, fingerprints," and Dot replied, "I don't think so!"
7.In The Powerpuff Girls, when Bubbles told their new neighbor Robin that Professor Utonium had made them in his lab by accident, and Robin responded, "Don't worry, Professor, I was an accident, too."
8.Or when Mojo Jojo was thrown in a jail cell with a larger man who creepily smiled at him before the scene cut as narrator said, "Love is in the air, can't ya just smell it?"
9.In Rocko’s Modern Life, when Rocko found a job as a phone sex operator. (And he kept repeating, "Oh, baby. Oh, baby. Oh, baby.")
10.And worse, when Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt played a game called, "Spank the Monkey," complete with paddles.
11.When head cheerleader Kimmy tried to seduce Newton into doing her math work for her to avoid being kicked off the cheer squad in Sym-Bionic Titan — and danced to a song called, "Booty Jeans."
12.That time Velma's cousin Marcy coyly told Fred, "I'm eighteen, able to legally... vote!" in What's New, Scooby Doo?
13.When the Flash said, "I'm the fastest man alive," to which Hawkgirl responded, "Ever think that's why you can't get a date?" in Justice League. (Flash asked after, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?")
14.That episode of Adventure Time where Finn and Jake got stuck hiding in Marceline's closet. Then, when Finn went out to check if the coast was clear, he saw Marceline naked.
15.In Sam & Cat, when Cat had to "perform CPR" but somehow ended up bouncing up and down on the guy's chest.
16.When Lois saw a photo of Superman at the Daily Planet and commented, "Nice 'S,'" — but it sounded like "Nice ass," — so Clark immediately asked, "Excuse me?" in
Superman: The Animated Series.
17.When the villains in Dexter's Laboratory cut into a bag of flour as if it were cocaine, and one said, "Gentlemen, we are about to make a lot of bread."
18.Or, when the Neighbor Lady's pants — also in Dexter's Laboratory — had "Dad's Trophy" written across the butt.
19.That time Double D touched the mysterious boomerang in Ed, Edd n Eddy, started sweating, and did a strip dance on the street lamp pole.
20.In Regular Show, when Mordecai accidentally saw Pops naked.
21.When Harley Quinn hopped on the Joker's desk in a nightie and asked, "Don't you wanna rev up your Harley?" in Batman: The Animated Series.
22.That time that Gumball found Alan deflated in the bathroom and "blew" him back up in The Amazing World of Gumball.
23.Or, when Alan "ate" an eggplant to emphasize the importance of eating vegetables. Except another student pointed out, "If you were talking while you were eating, then where did the—" before they got cut off by Darwin appearing.
24.In Rugrats, when Tommy, Phil, and Lil took their clothes off (because Spike, the dog, got to be naked) and Phil and Lil gasped as they saw each other nude for the first time. Then, Tommy looked at Lil and asked if he could ask her a personal question.
25.And that time Grandpa Lou told Tommy and Chuckie that his personal favorite video was "Lonely Space Vixens" while laughing and wagging his eyebrows, before adding, "That's for after you go to bed."
26.The episode of The Spectular Spider-Man when Spider-Man shot a web at Black Cat, and she told him, "Oh, you better not get your goop in my hair."
27.When Ren and Stimpy were door-to-door rubber nipple salesmen and encountered Mr. Horse, who — after thinking they were the FBI — creepily said, "So, nipples, huh? No, sir, I don't think I have any use for rubber nipples. I'll tell ya what though, do you have any rubber walrus protectors?" as he brought out a walrus, who begged, "Call the police," in The Ren & Stimpy Show.
28.And, lastly, that time Ren was going to spank Kowalski (who used to be in prison) and told him to pull down his pants but then freaked out when Kowalski did and changed his mind.
Did you laugh, cringe, or gasp? And what about you — what moment can't you believe they got away with in a kid show? Let us know below in the comments!