Ah, iCarly. One of the most game-changing kids' shows of the decade. Not only was it one of the first shows to include content that was both for and created by kids, but it also talked to kids on their level without coming across as pandering or condescending. Creating programs for older children can be incredibly difficult. You need to make sure that the content engages and entertains kids while also making sure that it doesn’t cross the line. If you go too young you can easily alienate older viewers, if you try to speak to kids on their level you can misstep and create awkward and unnatural dialogue, and if your content is a bit too mature it can cause parental outcry. But iCarly managed to navigate these treacherous waters while also being one of the most successful and widely adored children's shows of all time.

And I believe the key to iCarly’s success lies in its humor. Some of their jokes were the kind of jokes that cause eight-year-olds to double over in hysterics. However, the more subtle jokes and witty banter flies directly over their younger viewers heads and makes older audiences hoot and holler until they weep. Rewatching iCarly as a grown-up is completely different to watching it as a child, and every grown-up should rewatch the show at least once.

So without further ado, here are 25 iCarly moments that we never thought twice when we were kids.

25 Not Really That Bad

via: memedroid.com

I want to start this section off by saying that there is a lot of misinformation circling the internet about this specific fact. In the episode iRock the Vote, Carly, Sam, and Freddie, find themselves bending over backward to help a celebrity that really doesn’t deserve it. That celebrity is cruel, entitled, and loves calling everyone around him ‘hobknockers.’

When Carly shows confusion, Sam whispers the word's meaning into her ear and the girls display immediate disgust.

Though children wrote this word off as a funny insult, older viewers simply had to know what it meant. Many online dictionaries have “revealed” the shocking meaning of this slang term, but the truth is is that the writers of iCarly made the word up. Sorry to burst your bubble, but there was no scandalous word hidden in this episode.

24 What Happened To The Elderly

via: pinterest.com

Remember that grim little rhyme that Freddie's mom recites when Spencer asks why the elderly residents need to be in his apartment during the power outage? What kind of rhyme is that, Marissa Benson? As a child, I thought nothing of this morbidly cutesy rhyme and was focused more on the comically large amount of people in Carly and Spencer’s apartment.

However, my more curious and mature mind is disturbed by Marissa Benson’s choice of words. Yes, we are all aware that heat stroke is a very serious issue and that elderly people are susceptible to it and its effects. However, there is no need to spell it out in such grim yet cutesy terms. Though it is important to point out that Marissa Benson is literally filled to the brim with odd little rhymes like this one.

23 Under-Where?

Via Nick

In the episode iShock America, Gibby finds himself revealing a bit more than he expected on a live taping of a popular late night television broadcast. While the cast of iCarly enjoys typical late night fun and antics, Gibby’s pants decide to make a one way trip to the floor and, in doing so, leave Gibby completely vulnerable and exposed from the navel down.

The children receive major public outcry and are forced to deal with the storm following the scandal.

But hang on a second… a boy was seen on live television. That is not okay. We know that Gibby was punished for the incident but was his age even considered in this whole debacle? When I was a kid I thought that scene was hilarious, but now I am not so sure.

22 This Practice Is Key

via: me.me

We all know that Nevel Papperman is one of the biggest toolbags in the entire world. He constantly harasses the iCarly gang, takes pleasure in yelling at innocent people, and actively tries to make Carly’s life miserable because she didn’t want to kiss him. Seriously. Did no one teach you basic consent, Nevel? It was fully in her right to refuse and he should honestly get over it. Yes, it sucks when someone doesn’t return your affections but they don’t owe you anything. When Carly lost control of her website and it fell into Nevel’s hands, he attempted to force her into kissing him in order to regain control of her domain again. He even brought big burly bodyguards to make sure that Carly didn’t try to run or back out of their deal. Luckily Carly outsmarted him in the end, but still.

21 Lousy Job

Via Wiki

In the episode iGot Detention, Freddie and Carly instigate a series of “get detention quick” schemes in order to join Sam in detention so that they can film their 50th Webshow Spectacular as a team. When Carly rigs her teachers' chair to fall out from under her body, the teacher unexpectedly proclaims extreme delight at this event. When I was a kid, I thought it was hilarious.

However, as a grown-up, I was doubled over in hysterics for an entirely different reason.

After the chair breaks, the teacher reveals that she will be given several paid weeks off from her job due to an “on the job” injury. Anyone who has ever worked will know that urge you get to injure yourself ever so slightly so that you can get to call in and go home. I feel you random teacher lady, I feel you.

20 The Colours Of The Rainbow

Via Twitter

I just don’t even know what to say about this one. It is all right there in the image. When Spencer’s little date goes a bit awry, he ends up getting into a spectacular paint fight that goes somewhere that 10-year-old me did not see coming. Spencer apologizes to his date for painting her mouth red and she apologizes for slathering him with blue paint in a moment of maturity and clarity. However, Spencer then asks his date if she wants to “make purple” and my little mind could not handle what I was about to see. I have to admit that grown-up me is a little bit shocked as well. Spencer is honestly so smooth that it continually catches me off guard. His flirting skills are unparalleled and I find myself wondering if I would be wooed by Spencer Shay.

19 The Randy Room

via: twitter.com

When I was a fresh-faced ten-year-old girl watching iCarly for the first time I thought the idea of a teacher having an entire room in her home dedicated to American Idol judge Randy Jackson was hilarious. It was random and silly and my little brain did not question it. But my grown-up brain has found itself completely obsessed with and perplexed by the concept.

Why does Ms. Briggs have that room in her home?

I understand the idea of being obsessed with a certain celebrity but that is a bit extreme and I’m saying that. What does she do in there? I mean, we were forced to watch her flex her glutes in order to impress the cardboard cutout… What other kinds of questionable and potentially scarring activities does she get up to in that room?

18 The Mysterious Goat Incident

Via Pinterest

There are several episodes within the series that mention a specific ‘petting zoo incident’ that happened to Carly at some point in her life. At some point between birth and her teen years, big brother Spencer took his little sister to the petting zoo and a goat did something horrible to her. But it is never mentioned what that goat did. A younger version of me brushed this off as a hilarious joke, however, I now find myself being overcome with a morbid curiosity. What did that goat do to Carly? When I was taken to a petting zoo as a child, one goat ate my pants while another nearly knocked me over. It was terrifying at the time; however, I get the feeling that whatever the goat did to Carly was much worse than what happened to me.

17 Advanced Literature

Via Twitter

Hey there, Guppy. What are you reading? “Nifty Shades of Beige?” Wow, that sounds a lot like a certain real-world novel that I would never recommend allowing a child to go anywhere near until they are at least 85 years old. Does your big brother, Gibby, know that you have gotten your hands on this book?

But in all seriousness, who approved this subtle joke?

And how were they able to get it approved by the censors? I know that Nickelodeon has far less strict rules than other children's networks but I am honestly surprised that they let this one slide. Had I seen this as a child I honestly would have paid no mind to the book in Guppy’s hands. But my grown-up eyes cannot unsee what has been seen.

16 The Dingo Channel

via: icarly.wikia.com

Have you ever noticed the fact that the Disney Channel show Bizaardvark is essentially the exact same show as iCarly? It came later, but it's obviously the same kind of thing. Don’t worry, the creators of iCarly noticed that Disney was taking ideas from them. And they were so enraged by this that they actually wrote an entire episode where writers at the “Dingo” channel steals everything iCarly does and the kids call them out for it. Sam threatens the Dingo writers with a sock filled with butter, Carly rages at them, and they all threaten to make the world aware of the fact that their leaders head was stored in a cryo-chamber in the studio. As a child, I did not realize how blatantly obvious this episode was and I was honestly shocked by how thinly veiled their criticism of the Disn- I mean the Dingo Channel truly was.

15 Living In Colour

Via ICarly

Costuming is a subtle yet important aspect of character creation. Wardrobe creators must make sure that any given characters costume is fitted and clean, looks like something a person that age would realistically wear, and that it shows the audience who that person is.

If someone saw the costume on its own, they would need to be able to easily know which character it belongs to.

And an easy way to achieve that goal is to establish color schemes for each character. For example, on iCarly, Carly’s color is red, Sam’s is yellow, Freddie’s is blue, and Spencer’s is purple. That is a lot of work put into something that most kids won’t even notice. But that isn’t to say that it isn’t important. Every single thing that goes into creating a show is valid and important in its own way.

14 Bursting With Spanish

via: twitter.com

If you are a long time iCarly fan, like me, you might recall the fact that sometimes, for literally no reason at all, Freddie will randomly erupt into a bit of a Spanish volcano. Children will most likely write this little phenomenon off entirely; however, grown-up audiences were quick to question these little outbursts. On his personal blog, Dan Schneider promised to reveal the reason behind these random outbursts at a later date, but he never did. In the show's final episode, Freddie begins to explain these random and mysterious outbursts but his explanation is interrupted and never resumed. They literally never explain it. How am I supposed to sleep tonight knowing that I have no idea why Freddie Benson randomly slips into Spanish dialogue? It can’t be done.

13 The Tale Of The Talking Undergarment

Via Wiki

Do you remember George, the bra who tells ghost stories? Well, younger viewers may have written him off as a silly talking bra but there is more to George than meets the eye. It turns out that George isn’t just any old bra.

He is actually a very special bra.

He is specifically a size 34C bra. I wonder where the girls got him and what made them decide on that size. Did they get him from their favorite store, Build a Bra? Let’s be real for a second, that sounds like a majestic place. I would love to go to Build a Bra. Imagine being able to make beautiful, comfortable, and completely customized bras for a fixed price. I would give my left arm for that sort of experience. It sounds like retail paradise to me.

12 What's In The Bathroom

via: icarly.wikia.com

Look, people keep weird things in their bathrooms and I am not one to judge. However, I find myself having to wonder exactly what Spencer was thinking when he brought this commonly used kitchen item into the bathroom with him. In the episode entitled iLost My Mind, the Shay family seems to have misplaced their bottle of olive oil. Spencer asks Carly where this slippery cooking oil has disappeared and she reminds him that he left it in the bathroom. Now as a child, I wrote this off as a random joke. But as a grown-up, I find myself wondering why the olive oil was in the bathroom in the first place. To be fair, Spencer does have beautiful hair so maybe he was doing an olive oil based hair mask. Or maybe this question is better left unanswered.

11 Inside Jokes

Via Where to Get It

Every single person who has ever watched iCarly has wanted a Penny tee at one point or another but did you ever give the slogans on their shirts a second thought? Well, it turns out that these sayings were not as random as we all once thought.

As a child, I believed that their shirts were two of the most random words they could think of thrown together and printed onto a shirt.

However, every single one of their infamous Penny tees are actually direct references to jokes, offhand comments, and situations from previous episodes. If a character says something that the show creators find particularly hilarious it will find its way onto a Penny tee at some point in the future. It’s exciting knowing that there is actually a bit of rhyme and reason to these tee shirt slogans.

10 Victorious, Take 2

Via Deviant Art

Did you ever notice that Victoria Justice made her way into two separate episodes of iCarly? That’s right. She played Carly’s MMA-loving adversary Shelby Marx and appeared as the title character from her own sitcom, Victorious, in a spectacular crossover episode that defined a generation. Marvel’s Infinity War is nothing when compared to that classic life-changing crossover of epic proportions. As a child, I paid no mind to this double casting and the show briefly jokes about a resemblance between the two characters. However, my grown-up self is not convinced. If Shelby is a famous athlete, how has no one ever told Tori how much she looks like her? Both shows exist in the same universe and yet it is never mentioned on Victorious. This mystery will haunt me for years to come.

9 Call Me, Beep Me

Via Wiki

When I was a child, my Auntie explained that television shows use fake numbers for their signs, characters, and in show ads, in order to make sure that they don’t accidentally end up publishing someone’s real phone number. She explained that numbers that begin with ‘555’ are always fake.

However, when Sam’s number was shown on iCarly, it did not feature those classic fake digits.

I brushed this off as a child but, after doing a little research I discovered that that number was a real number that would bring you to an aggressive voicemail left by Sam Puckett herself. Shows that count on children ignoring minor details are able to include such fascinating details and little easter eggs that are so exciting to discover.

8 Full-Time Job

Via NPR

We get used to seeing main characters in each and every episode of a show. I mean, they are the main cast, it is to be expected. But sometimes a character can miss an episode or two without audiences even taking notice. Carly and Freddie featured in every single episode of iCarly that was ever created. Sam, on the other hand, is one episode short of that title. Though younger audiences never really paid much mind to the fact that Sam was missing, I promise that she had a good reason to stay home that week. It turns out that the actress that played Sam fell so ill at the time she needed to be on set to shoot her scenes that she ended up being briefly hospitalized. Not wanting to delay the episode nor pressure her to work while ill, Sam was simply written out of that episode.

7 Switching Out Sam

Via Wiki

We all know that Sam is quite the physical character. Sam likes to pick fights, wrestle her friends, and carry Gibby off-screen as much as possible. Wait a minute, we need to scratch that last comment because it turns out that “Sam” didn’t actually do any of the heavy lifting on set. The actress that brought Sam to life loved the slapstick and the physical angle of her character, so she fought to do as many stunts as she could.

However, she was unable to both lift and carry the larger male characters when it was called for in the script.

So a stunt double was brought in for those scenes. As a former child, I feel obligated to state that I was never able to tell when Sam was switched out for a stunt double. I literally had no idea, and I am quite the observant kid.

6 Aptly Named

Via Wiki

One of the best aspects of the show is listening to Spencer share stories about his hilarious group of quirky friends with incredibly unique names. As a child, I was merely entertained by this group of characters, their crazy antics, and their silly names. However, as a grown-up, I realized that those names all serve a purpose. It turns out that each and every one of Spencer’s friends is named after their profession/job/career. Socko makes the wonderful and exciting socks that Spencer so proudly wears throughout the show. Socko’s brother, Tyler, has dedicated his life to the art of making ties. Spencer’s friend Rob is employed as a thief. The one they call Otto is surprise surprise, a car salesman. And good ol’ Hattie owns a haberdashery.