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Encyclopedia SpongeBobia

"A Day Without Tears" is a SpongeBob SquarePants episode from season 7. In this episode, Squidward bets that SpongeBob cannot go a whole day without crying.

Characters[]

Synopsis[]

A Day Without Tears 042

SpongeBob cried 43 times.

The episode starts with SpongeBob waking up, excited to start his day. While walking, he stubs his toe and starts crying. Later while getting dressed, SpongeBob accidentally rips his favorite outfit with a hanger and cries again. While eating breakfast and listening to the radio, SpongeBob hears a sad song, and this makes him cry yet again. Next door, Squidward is becoming annoyed by SpongeBob's crying.

At the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob is cooking a Krabby Patty when he is startled by Mr. Krabs, causing the patty to fall on the floor. SpongeBob cries as he throws the patty in the trash, lamenting how it isn't fair. Squidward becomes irritated by SpongeBob's wailing and yells, "Krabby Patty nothing!" when SpongeBob tries to explain what happened. SpongeBob begins crying again because Squidward yells at him, at which point Squidward gives up.

Later that day, Squidward confronts SpongeBob over how he has cried 43 times today before 2:00 pm. SpongeBob is doubtful he has "that many tears in his brain" but Squidward pulls up a TV and plays a video montage he edited which shows the number of different times SpongeBob has cried over the years. After watching thousands of instances of his crying, SpongeBob realizes Squidward is right. He promises to stop, but Squidward rebukes his words and makes a bet with SpongeBob that he couldn't last until midnight without crying. After a call with Patrick over the phone over his opinion of not crying the rest of the day, SpongeBob agrees with Squidward and they set the wager: If SpongeBob cries even one tear before midnight, he has to do various chores for Squidward for a year; If he doesn't, Squidward has to sleep over at SpongeBob's house for a night. Squidward is bothered by SpongeBob's end of the bet and thinks to himself that SpongeBob could cry any minute.

A Day Without Tears 090

Squidward tries to get SpongeBob to cry.

After the bet is made, Squidward follows SpongeBob home; to ensure he does not sleep over with him, Squidward tries to cheat and make SpongeBob cry over things like a beautiful sunset, sad news stories, a sad song on the clarinet, and a saddening bedtime story.

Amazingly, SpongeBob manages to hold in his tears until midnight, despite all of Squidward's best attempts, and after midnight, SpongeBob cries all over Bikini Bottom like crazy. With SpongeBob winning the bet over him, Squidward is forced to come over to SpongeBob's house for a sleepover, and the episode ends with Squidward crying hysterically and SpongeBob comforting him while watching TV.

Production[]

This episode was added to the US Copyright Office on January 15, 2010, alongside its sister, "The Play's the Thing," and "Rodeo Daze."[3]

Music[]

 ) Production music
 ) Original music
 ) SpongeBob music

  Aloha Bikini Bottom - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Title card]
  Coconut Cream Pie - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob wakes up]
  Hawaiian Cocktail - Richard Myhill [SpongeBob cries]
  Coconut Cream Pie - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob goes into his closet]
  Asia By Eely Dan - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [End of "Asia" on the radio]
  Lionel Fishy Sad Song - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Sad song on radio]
  Steel Licks 78 - Jeremy Wakefield ["That SpongeBob is such a crybaby."]
  Salty Krab Jig - Michael Bolger, Nicolas Carr ["SpongeBob, guess what!"]
  Dirgey - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston ["He was a good little Krabby Patty."]
  Drama Link (E) - Hubert Clifford [Squidward annoyed by SpongeBob's crying]
  Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield ["SpongeBob, will you stop crying?!"/"Krabby Patty nothing!"]
  Steel Licks 25 - Jeremy Wakefield ["You yelled at me!"]
  Boring Morning - Nicolas Carr, Steve Marston ["All right, look."]
  South Pacific Island II - Victor Cavini [montage of SpongeBob crying]
  Lap Steel - Nicolas Carr [thousands of tears later...]
  South Pacific Island II - Victor Cavini ["Wow, guess I do cry a lot."]
  New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr ["Excuse me a minute."]
  Gator - Steve Belfer [SpongeBob calls Patrick]
  Goofy Conversation Continued - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [SpongeBob makes a bet with Squidward]
  Goofy Conversation Continued Thin Mix - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Squidward laughs]
  Drama Link (C) - Hubert Clifford ["I'm not going to cry! I'm not going to cry!"]
  Hawaiian Flower - Jon Jelmer [sunset]
  Bikini Bottom Mens Choir Ahhhs - Nicolas Carr [Choir drives by]
  Hawaiian Flower - Jon Jelmer [SpongeBob is about to cry]
  Steel Licks 22 - Jeremy Wakefield ["Oh, well, sunset's over."]
  O Makalapua B - Kapono Beamer [Gary sleeping]
  New Vibe Hits - Nicolas Carr [mail arrives]
  Maui Beach - Hans Haider [postcard from SpongeBob's parents]
  Nude Sting - Nicolas Carr ["No problem."]
  Bikini Bottom News Theme - Nicolas Carr [news on TV]
  International Law - Peter Yorke [snail caught in tree]
  Bikini Bottom News Theme - Nicolas Carr ["Coming up: an interview with a manatee who didn't get what he wanted for his birthday."]
  Drama Link (O) - Hubert Clifford ["Sad news for Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy fans."]
  Alpine Holiday [#60] - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [Squidward changes the channel]
  Drama Link (F) - Hubert Clifford [SpongeBob throws the TV out the window]
  Steel Licks 46 - Jeremy Wakefield ["I'm gonna watch it all night!"]
  Down in Davie Jones Locker - Nicolas Carr ["It's getting late."]
  Noodly Shinanigans - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["What would you say to a little music?"]
  Hearts and Flowers - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony [Squidward playing clarinet]
  Tension Bits - Nicolas Carr, Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward gets angry]
  Noodly Shinanigans - Nicolas Carr, Barry Anthony ["Time really does fly when you're having fun!"]
  Befuddled Gent - Phil Green [bedtime story]
  Danger Sign - Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [SpongeBob trying not to cry]
  Frightmare - Magnum Opus [it's almost midnight]
  Steel Licks 1 - Jeremy Wakefield [Squidward sighs]
  Spongemonger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob bursts out crying]
  Bikini Bottom Mens Choir Ahhhs - Nicolas Carr [Choir drives by]
  Spongemonger - Sage Guyton, Jeremy Wakefield [SpongeBob finishes crying]
  Friends and Family - Phil Green, Geoffrey Love, Ken Thorne [ending]

Release[]

Trivia[]

General[]

  • This episode was paired up with "Rodeo Daze" during its first airing in the March 2010 premiere week.[4] Its actual sister episode is "Summer Job."
  • This episode marks the second appearance of the Bikini Bottom Men's Choir, the first being "Choir Boys." The choir makes two brief cameo appearances in this episode: first half-way in the episode when Squidward gets SpongeBob to cry over the sight of the sunset, and then later at the end when Bikini Bottom is flooded with SpongeBob's tears.
  • In this episode, SpongeBob has curtains on his window, but in most episodes, he does not.
  • This is the first episode to use the tracks "Coconut Cream Pie" and "Aloha Bikini Bottom."
  • The sad song Squidward plays is called "Hearts and Flowers (Or Some Such Sad Song)." There is an actual song called "Hearts and Flowers" composed by Theodore Moses-Tobani, but the melody sounds different than the one Squidward plays.
  • This episode reveals that Squidward likes Croissants.
  • It is revealed that Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy airs eight times a day, but it is brought down to seven in this episode, according to the news anchor.
  • Apparently, until this episode, SpongeBob was unaware that he cried so much. However, he showed some awareness in "No Weenies Allowed" when he revealed that he only cried for 20 minutes after stubbing his toe, but in that episode, SpongeBob breaks his fingers and runs away crying.
  • The outcomes resulting in SpongeBob crying in the beginning are:
    • Stubbing his toe.
    • Ripping his favorite shirt.
    • Hearing a sad song on the radio.
    • Dropping a Krabby Patty and throwing it away.
    • Being yelled at by Squidward.
    • 37 other unknown outcomes.
  • The videos of SpongeBob crying show he:
    • Dropped a Krabby Patty on the floor.
    • Didn't find what he needed at the Barg'N-Mart.
    • Failed his boating test (as usual).
    • Broke his jellyfishing net.
    • Could not find an unoccupied bathroom stall.
    • Missed the bus.
    • Other various reasons not shown.
  • Squidward's attempts to get SpongeBob to cry and how SpongeBob resists:
    • Watch the sunset; It ends, snapping him out.
    • Watch Gary sleeping; He manages to immediately control himself.
    • Read a letter from his parents saying they miss him; He abruptly reads another letter saying his subscription to Jellyfishing Monthly has expired.
    • Watch sad stories on TV and hear bad news reports; The stories end with good outcomes and he repeatedly changes the channel, before finally throwing the TV out the window for Patrick to take.
    • Play a sad song; Again, he controls himself.
    • Read a made-up sad story; Once again he controls himself, but holds back so many tears that once midnight comes, he finally cries and releases a flood of tears throughout Bikini Bottom.
  • The title card looks similar to "Pickles," except zoomed in a bit and it has a black aura.
  • When Squidward is reading a sad story, SpongeBob holds in his tears by using his body to absorb them. In real life, sea sponges use their bodies to absorb water.
  • This is the second episode in which SpongeBob and Squidward watch the sunset together. The first was "Dying for Pie."

Episode references[]

  • This episode is similar to the plot of "Funny Pants," where in that episode, Squidward gets annoyed with SpongeBob laughing nonstop and tries to prevent him from exhibiting it further or else consequences will follow. In this episode, it's exactly the same, except it replaces laughing with crying. Alongside that, Steven Banks was credited as a writer on this episode and "Funny Pants."

Cultural references[]

  • On the radio, the announcer says the song is by Eely Dan, referencing the jazz rock band Steely Dan.
  • The radio announcer also states that the song's name before "Sad Songs" was "Asia" a play on Aja, a song by Steely Dan on the album of the same name.
  • When Squidward reads a sad story to SpongeBob called "The Little Angler Who Got Lost" near the end of the episode, the page he's actually reading is "Jack and Jill," which is a popular children's nursery rhyme.

Errors[]

  • When SpongeBob cries during "Sad Song," his tears come out his upstairs bedroom's window, but he is in the kitchen, completely opposite and downstairs from his bedroom.
  • SpongeBob can be seen shedding a tear during the news story about the snail, which means Squidward won the bet all along.
  • When Squidward tells SpongeBob to stop crying and begins to yell at him, his mouth briefly clips through his left eye.
SpongeBob wearing his hat when some of them, he isn't at the Krusty Krab

SpongeBob wearing his Krusty Krab employee hat when some of them are not at the Krusty Krab.

  • During the slideshow Squidward made of SpongeBob's breakdowns over the years that were seen, SpongeBob wears his Krusty Krab employee hat in all of the clips that were seen even though some are not set at the Krusty Krab.
Vlcsnap-2020-07-22-13h10m26s616

Squidward's missing mouth.

  • When Squidward says, "Clean out my rain gutters," his mouth disappears for one frame.


References[]

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