List of time cards

Time cards are used throughout SpongeBob SquarePants to represent how much time has passed within an episode, performed by the French Narrator. They are identified as time cards by Patrick in "Wet Painters" when he tells SpongeBob to hurry up since he is all out of time cards, breaking the fourth wall. So far, the record for the most time cards in an episode is five, in "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve."

The first time card ever used was "3 Days Later..." in "I Was a Teenage Gary," although the French Narrator did not read it. He would later read the next card, "2000 Years Later" seen in "SB-129" and so on. The "Twenty Years Earlier" time card in "License to Milkshake" is not read either.

List

Picture	Text	Episode	Season
	3 Days Later... (Unspoken)	"I Was a Teenage Gary"	1
	2000 Years Later	"SB-129"	1
	6½ Hours Later	"Imitation Krabs"	2
	A Few Inches Later	"Shanghaied"	2
	Day Two	"Band Geeks"	2
	Day Three	"Band Geeks"	2
	Day Four	"Band Geeks"	2
	A Few Moments Later	"Krusty Love"	2
	One Eternity Later	"Squid on Strike"	2
	Three Days Later	"My Pretty Seahorse"	3
	Twelve Seconds Later	"My Pretty Seahorse"	3
	3:28 AM	"As Seen on TV"	3
	Three Weeks Later	"Can You Spare a Dime?"	3
	Many Months Later	"Can You Spare a Dime?"	3
	So much later that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one (Dee Bradley Baker's voice)	"Can You Spare a Dime?"	3
	Tomorrow	"Rock-a-Bye Bivalve"	3
	Tomorrow For Sure...	"Rock-a-Bye Bivalve"	3
	Eventually...	"Rock-a-Bye Bivalve"	3
	Uhhh...	"Rock-a-Bye Bivalve"	3
	12:00 Midnight	"Rock-a-Bye Bivalve"	3
	One Hour Later	"Wet Painters"	3
	Two Hours Later	"Wet Painters"	3
	Three Hours Later (Can you move it along? I'm all out of time cards.)	"Wet Painters"	3
	Meanwhile	"Ugh"	3
	Two Hours Later	"The Great Snail Race"	3
	8:01 PM	"Mid-Life Crustacean"	3
	The Next Day	"Born Again Krabs"	3
	Later...	"Krabby Land"	3
	Twenty Minutes Later	"SpongeBob Meets the Strangler"	3
	Six Hours Later	"SpongeBob Meets the Strangler"	3
	Several Bad Puns Later	"Pranks a Lot"	3
	70 Years Later	"Patrick the Snowman"	Shorts
	Meanwhile	"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie"	Movies
	Six Hours Later...	"Skill Crane"	4
	Later That Same Evening	"Funny Pants"	4
	Several Days Later	"Mrs. Puff, You're Fired"	4
	6 Months Later...	"Ghost Host"	4
	Two Hours Later	"Squidtastic Voyage"	4
	4 to 6 Weeks Later	"Hocus Pocus"	4
	One Minute, Thirty Seven Seconds Later...	"Driven to Tears"	4
	One Debt to Society Later...	"Driven to Tears"	4
	One Pair of Pants Later...	"The Pink Purloiner"	4
	Eight Hours Later...	"The Pink Purloiner"	4
	298 Frozen Patties Later...	"The Original Fry Cook"	5
	3 Hours Later	"Breath of Fresh Squidward"	5
	Epilogue	"Slimy Dancing"	5
	The Next Day	"Sing a Song of Patrick"	5
	Meanwhile at the Krusty Krab	"Le Big Switch"	5
	10 Seconds Later	"Pat No Pay"	5
	346 Minutes Later	"BlackJack"	5
	Much, Much, Much Later	"BlackJack"	5
	3 Days Later	"The Inmates of Summer"	5
	Opening Night...	"The Inmates of Summer"	5
	Later	"SpongeHenge"	5
	3000 Years Later	"SpongeHenge"	5
	One Week Later...	"Krabby Road"	6
	7:59 A.M.	"Nautical Novice"	6
	Three Weeks Later...	"Not Normal"	6
	3 Days Later...	"Gone"	6
	Two Hours Later... (shown twice)	"Sun Bleached"	6
	48 Hours Later	"No Nose Knows"	6
	8 Hours Later...	"Plankton's Regular"	6
	The Following Thursday...	"Porous Pockets"	6
	5 Minutes Later...	"Cephalopod Lodge"	6
	24 Hours Later	"Squid's Visit"	6
	Much Later	"To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants"	6
	Much, Much Later...	"To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants"	6
	7 Hours Later...	"No Hat for Pat"	6
	Epilogue	"No Hat for Pat"	6
	Several Song Filled Hours Later...	"Toy Store of Doom"	6
	A Few Minutes Later...	"Chum Bucket Supreme"	6
	A Little Longer Than a Few Minutes Later	"Chum Bucket Supreme"	6
	Two Hours Later	"Chum Bucket Supreme"	6
	3 Days Later	"Chum Bucket Supreme"	6
	15 Minutes Later...	"Chum Caverns"	6
	Several Months Later...	"The Curse of Bikini Bottom"	7
	Thousands of Tears Later	"A Day Without Tears"	7
	16 Paranoia Filled Days Later	"One Coarse Meal"	7
	Two Hours Later	"Gary in Love"	7
	Much, Much Later....	"The Monster Who Came to Bikini Bottom"	7
	Yesterday...	"The Monster Who Came to Bikini Bottom"	7
	Many Hours Later...	"The Curse of the Hex"	7
	75 Years Later	"The Great Patty Caper"	7
	2 Hours Later	"Buried in Time"	7
	One Extremely Annoying Shift Later...	"Enchanted Tiki Dreams"	7
	Two Very Boring Minutes Later...	"Tunnel of Glove"	7
	Three Hours Later...	"Tunnel of Glove"	7
	One Weiner Later...	"Krusty Dogs"	7
	The Following Day...	"Krusty Dogs"	7
	Meanwhile...	"Drive Thru"	8
	Later...	"Drive Thru"	8
	Just Then...	"Drive Thru"	8
	Brief Construction Montage (shown twice)	"A Friendly Game"	8
	Meanwhile, Back In The Lowlands...	"Frozen Face-Off"	8
	One Frozen Wasteland Later...	"Frozen Face-Off"	8
	One Hour Later	"Patrick's Staycation"	8
	5 Hours Later...	"Patrick's Staycation"	8
	Two Days Later....	"Sandy's Vacation in Ruins"	Shorts
	Later, in the void...	"Ghoul Fools"	8
	Approximately 10 Hours Later...	"Plankton's Good Eye"	8
	Early the Next Morning...	"The Way of the Sponge"	8
	One Shift Later...	"Restraining SpongeBob"	8
	Two Weeks Later...	"Are You Happy Now?"	8
	Eleven Minutes Later...	"Planet of the Jellyfish"	8
	Five Minutes Later...	"Free Samples"	8
	A Lot of Boring Math Later...	"For Here or to Go"	8
	Twenty-Four Hours Later...	"Chum Fricassee"	8
	One Week Later...	"Chum Fricassee"	8
	One Long Angry Line Later...	"Hello Bikini Bottom!"	8
	Twenty Years Earlier... (Unspoken)	"License to Milkshake"	9
	72 Hours Later...	"Squid Baby"	9
	Two Hours Later	"Don't Look Now"	9
	Just Then...	"Yeti Krabs"	9
	...By Sheer Coincidence...	"Yeti Krabs"	9
	The Next Morning...	"SpongeBob You're Fired"	9
	Montage	"The Executive Treatment"	9
	The Next Morning...	"Sanctuary!"	9
	Many Tic Tacs Later...	"Patrick! The Game"	9
	Flashback	"Larry's Gym"	9
	End of Flashback	"Larry's Gym"	9
	The Next Evening...	"Larry's Gym"	9
	One Hour Later...	"Mall Girl Pearl"	9
	The Next Day...	"Goodbye, Krabby Patty?"	9
	Later...	"Goodbye, Krabby Patty?"	9
	4 to 6 Days Later...	"Snail Mail"	9
	4 to 6 More Days Later...	"Snail Mail"	9
	The Next Morning...	"Pineapple Invasion"	9
	Moments Later...	"Pineapple Invasion"	9
	More Moments Later...	"Pineapple Invasion"	9
	One Semester Later...	"Salsa Imbecilicus"	9
	Graduation Day	"Salsa Imbecilicus"	9
	One Hour Later...	"Mermaid Pants"	10
	Five Minutes Later...	"Code Yellow"	10
	80,000 Impressions Later... (Would you please stop imitating me? It is starting to get very annoying.)	"Mimic Madness"	10
	3,000 Wup-Poos Later...	"House Worming"	10
	Soon After...	"House Worming"	10
	Later... (shown twice)	"Snooze You Lose"	10
	Moments Later...	"Snooze You Lose"	10
	The Next Morning...	"SpongeBob's Place"	10
	Many Unbearable Hours Later...	"Plankton Gets the Boot"	10
	82 Kilometers Later...	"Plankton Retires"	10
	A Little Later...	"Bike Safety Tips"	Shorts
	3 Hours Later...	"Out of the Picture"	10
	One Season Later...	"The Clam Whisperer"	11
	Many Secret Patties Later...	"Krabby Patty Creature Feature"	11
	Moments Later...	"Krabby Patty Creature Feature"	11
	One Nap Later...	"Squid Noir"	11
	One Very Long Digestive Tract Later...	"Scavenger Pants"	11
	Six Months Later...	"Scavenger Pants"	11
	One Pathetic Sob-Story Later...	"Grandmum's the Word"	11
	Later...	"Shopping List"	11
	Many, Many Minutes Later...	"Whale Watching"	11
	Three Hours Later...	"Plankton Paranoia"	11
	The Next Morning...	"Plankton Paranoia"	11
	One Shift Later...	"Appointment TV"	11
	The Next Day...	"Appointment TV"	11
	Zee Next Morning...	"The Grill is Gone"	11
	Later...	"Bubbletown"	11
	The Next Morning...	"The Ballad of Filthy Muck"	12
	Later That Night...	"The Krusty Slammer"	12
	The Next Day...	"The Krusty Slammer"	12
	One Weekend of Pampering Later...	"Gary's Got Legs"	12
	Several Days Later...	"Plankton's Old Chum"	12
	1 Hour Later...	"Broken Alarm"	12
	Late Again...	"Broken Alarm"	12
	You Get The Idea!	"Broken Alarm"	12
	Eight Semesters Later...	"Karen's Baby"	12
	6 Months Later...	"Dirty Bubble Returns"	12
	Meanwhile...	"Biddy Sitting"	12
	One Little Boost to the Surface Later...	"SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout"	12
	A few minutes later...	"The Goofy Newbie"	12
	One hour later...	"The Goofy Newbie"	12
	Five Billion Years Later	"The Goofy Newbie"	12
	Later	"The Hankering"	12
	One Million, Zillion, Jillion, Dillion, Cotillion Times Later...	"Escape from Beneath Glove World"	12

Trivia

• "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve" is the episode with the most time cards, having five. In fact, it has more time cards than the entirety of season 1.
• The most common time cards are "Two hours later" and just "Later," which both have a total of nine appearances in the series.
• The time card "So much later that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one" is the longest of all of the time cards in the series, with 19 words and 69 letters.
• The time card "The Next Day" in "Born Again Krabs" is the only time card so far to feature characters. It has SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward in the corners.
  • If counting not only characters that are in the time card itself, then "Mimic Madness" is the second time a time card to feature a character.
• The "One Eternity Later" time card displays the longest passage of time in the series: an eternity.
• The "Three Hours Later" time card in "Wet Painters" is the first one in the series to be held by a character, being Patrick. It would be followed by "One Little Boost to the Surface Later" in "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout," which was held by the French Narrator.
• The time cards "Just Then..." and "...By Sheer Coincidence..." in "Yeti Krabs" was the only time in which more than one time card was represented in one phrase.
• The "Uhhh..." time card is the shortest time card with 4 letters, "Later..." being the second with 5 letters.
• The "The Next Morning" time card in "Sanctuary!" is the same pattern as SpongeBob's pineapple, with a magenta aura.
• The "70 Years Later" (Patrick the Snowman), "Meanwhile" (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie), "2 Days Later" (Sandy's Vacation in Ruins), and "A Little Later..." (Bike Safety Tips) time cards are (currently) the only time cards without a season.
• The very first time card from "I Was a Teenage Gary" (3 Days Later...) and the time card, "Twenty Years Earlier..." from "License to Milkshake" are the only time cards that the French Narrator doesn't read.
• The "Brief Construction Montage" time card in "A Friendly Game" is read differently than what it reads in the two instances in the episode it is used.
  • In the first use of the card, the French Narrator reads, "What follows is a brief construction montage." In the second, he reads, "We hope you enjoyed this brief construction montage."
• The episodes "Sun Bleached" and "Snooze You Lose" are at present the only episodes to display the exact time card more than once.
• In some dubs, the time card "3 Days Later..." time card from I Was a Teenage Gary is read out.
• Season 1 is the season with the least time cards, having two.
• Season 3 is the season with the most time cards, having 22.
• The "80,000 Impressions Later..." time card in "Mimic Madness" has SpongeBob reading this, imitating the French Narrator, who says, "Would you please stop imitating me? It is starting to get very annoying."
• The "The Next Evening..." time card in "Larry's Gym" is read as "The Very Next Evening..."
• The "Later" time card in "SpongeHenge," although by coincidence, is reminiscent of Toonami's sign off bumper, which also reads, "Later." However, the bumper is not read out loud.
• The "One Weiner Later..." title card is misspelled, and should read, "One Wiener Later..."
• There are time cards in the game SpongeBob's Game Frenzy.
• The time card "One Hour Later..." from "Mermaid Pants" and "6 Months Later..." from "Dirty Bubble Returns" is read by the Realistic Fish Head rather than the French Narrator.
• The "70 Years Later" time card from "Patrick the Snowman" is the only time card to be narrated by Nigel Thornberry from The Wild Thornberrys.
• The time cards have been very popular in memes and YouTubers, even having the Disney Channel show Milo Murphy's Law parodying it in the Season 1 finale.
• The "A few minutes later" and "One hour later" time cards" are read by a training announcer, while "Five billion years later" time card is read by a robotic voice.
• A "15 Minutes Later" time card is used in Plankton's Patty Plunder.
• Season 10 has half as many time cards as episodes.

Time card design trivia

• The time card, "Epilogue" from "No Hat for Pat" uses the same pattern as "Mall Girl Pearl," except the title card was pink with magenta instead of green.
• The "Meanwhile" time card in "Ugh" is actually written on a prehistoric wall, with drawings of two jellyfish and prehistoric hand prints.
• The "75 Years Later" time card in "The Great Patty Caper" has the same background as the title card for the first-season episode, "Pizza Delivery."
• The "One Extremely Annoying Shift Later..." time card in "Enchanted Tiki Dreams" has the same background as the title card for the ninth-season episode, "The Executive Treatment."
• The "One Long Angry Line Later..." time card in "Hello Bikini Bottom!" has the same background as the title card for the sixth-season episode, "House Fancy." It is also the last time card to be standard definition.
• The time card, "Twelve Seconds Later" in "My Pretty Seahorse" has an edited version of the first-season episode, "Help Wanted" title card.
  • Likewise, the "Three Days Later" time card has the same background as the title card in "Squidville."
• The "Several Song Filled Hours Later..." time card in "Toy Store of Doom" uses the same background as the title card of "Squid Wood" and "Patrick's Staycation."
• The "2000 Years Later" time card from "SB-129" uses a recolored version of the background from the title card of "Pickles."
• The "A Few Inches Later" time card in "Shanghaied" would later reuse the background and font for the title card of "Patrick SmartPants."
• The "Three Weeks Later" time card from "Can You Spare A Dime?" uses the same title card background for "Jellyfish Hunter."
• The "Day Three" time card in "Band Geeks" uses the same background and font color from the title card of "I Was a Teenage Gary," which is the episode with the very first time card.
• The "One Eternity Later" time card from "Squid on Strike" has the same background as the title card of "The Paper," although some of the objects on the card are lighter.
• The "Many Months Later" time card from "Can You Spare a Dime?" uses a recolored version of the title card background from "Walking Small."
• The "Two Days Later" title card from the short "Sandy's Vacation in Ruins" has exactly the same title card background as "No Hat for Pat."
• The time card "The Following Thursday..." in "Porous Pockets" has the same background from the title cards of "Naughty Nautical Neighbors" and "Summer Job."
• The "Meanwhile..." time card from "Drive Thru" uses a recolored version of the "Hall Monitor" title card background.
• The "Several Bad Puns Later" time card from "Pranks a Lot" uses a recolored version of the "Opposite Day" title card background.
• The "4-6 Weeks Later" time card from "Hocus Pocus" has the same background as the title card of "Pat No Pay."
• The "5 Billion Years Later" time card from "The Goofy Newbie" uses same the font color as "SB-129"s title card except slightly recolored.