Girl Saved By Friend's Knowledge Of Spongebob Episodes

Watching TV can be lifesaving: A Long Island 12-year-old saved her best friend's life when she performed the Heimlich maneuver—which she recalled from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. Miriam Starobin told the Post, "It was like a flash right in my eyes. I saw in my head Squidward with his clarinet lodged in his throat and then SpongeBob does the Heimlich maneuver and the clarinet comes flying out of his mouth." FWIW, that's the Squidtastic Voyage episode.

Miriam and Allyson Golden were in music class at Long Beach Middle School. The teacher made a joke, which sent the girls into peals of laughter, but Allyson, who was chewing gum, started to choke. Allyson couldn't speak and was turning red and flailing, so Miriam told Newsday that she "got her up ... I think I took my left hand and covered it with my right and pushed into her stomach three or four times." Miriam said to WCBS 2, "And I go whoa did I just do that?" while Allyson chimed in, "And I go whoa did she just do that?" Allyson added, "She's, like, my hero."

A Nickelodeon spokeperson said, "We think it's smart thinking on Miriam's part, and we are happy that SpongeBob could be such a positive help." Newsday also reports that Miriam is a fan of Grey's Anatomy and suggests she could have picked up some knowledge from the soapy medical drama.